


Nero, Act 2

by Couronnebead (orphan_account)



Series: Nero [2]
Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Angst and Humor, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-25
Updated: 2012-04-06
Packaged: 2017-10-31 17:04:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 67,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/346428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Couronnebead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continuation of Nero, Act 1<br/>The last few chapters are....meh, even i think their boring. I may come back after i finish the story to rewrite them.<br/>Just be assured that the cks up again in Act 3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Isabela jumped out of the way of the blade swinging down on her and appeared behind the raider's back, she twirled her daggers in her hand and plunged them both down through the man's ribs and into his lungs. Just as quickly she pulled them out, blood splashing onto her blouse as she did so, and twirled to put a dagger in another raider's stomach and used her other one to nearly decapitate one that appeared beside her.

Pulling her blade free and spilling the man's viscera to the ground she dodged a dagger aimed at her throat and used her own blade to knock away an arrow heading for her chest. _I never should have given Lucky a second chance,_ she fumed. The man had found her in the Hanged Man a few weeks before saying that he had heard rumor that the relic was in Wycome and demanded payment for giving her the information. She had scoffed and told him that she would pay him if she actually did find it there, although she forgot to mention that she wouldn't be going back to Kirkwall if she did.

Unsurprisingly it hadn't been there, instead she had dug through a stash and only found several badly written poems and an old boot. Now she was on her way back to give Lucky a piece of her mind, or rather, to take the burden of his family jewels off of his shoulders.

Unfortunately she had just left the city of Hercinia when this group of raiders decided that she was an easy target; and now she was letting them know just how wrong they were.

She was pulling her dagger free from a man's chest when she saw a familiar blue streak out of the corner of her eye and turned to watch the last of the raiders fall.

"Well if it isn't Fenris," She smiled, "fancy meeting you here."

The elf stopped glowing and turned to her with a smirk as he re-sheathed his blade, "Isabela. I cannot say I expected that I would be saving your life all the way out here."

She laughed, "I had this group handled long before you showed up, sweetling." She wiped her blades off on a dead raider at her feet, "what are you doing in these parts?"

"Killing raiders, evidently."

"Don't tell me then." Isabela rolled her eyes, "are you finally returning to Kirkwall? It's been years but I can think of a few people who might be glad to see your still alive."

Fenris scowled, "I presume you aren't referring to Hawke."

Isabela laughed, "he's not who I meant, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind knowing where you've been these past three years."

Fenris raised an eyebrow in question, "to whom are you referring, then?"

"Nero," she said simply, "he shut himself away in his mansion after you left, you know. He even got in a fist fight with Hawke, which he lost. He ended up with a rather sexy scar though, it adds to the whole 'I'm a dark mysterious rebel' thing that he has going on." she chuckled.

Fenris, clearly confused, said "why would he do that?"

Isabela giggled, "it took a couple of years before he finally told me, but apparently he was rather upset with Hawke for sleeping with you and then sending you home. He was being silly if you ask me, it's always awkward when you wake up in bed with the person you shagged the night before." she shrugged at the baffled look marring the elf's features and turned to continue down the path. "Thanks for the help Fenris, but there is a certain man who needs to be emasculated in Kirkwall and I don't dare keep him waiting." She waggled her fingers over her shoulder in parting, not stopping to wait for a reply.

She said nothing, only smiled knowingly, when Fenris caught up with her and they made their way back to the City of Chains.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Have a shitastic couple of days so I haven't' been writing much. Luckily I'm a couple of chapters ahead of what I have posted, so all I had to do was go over this one to make sure it makes some semblance of sense and the spelling and punctuation isn't terribly brutalized.

Nero sighed loudly in frustration and leaned back on one hand, using the other to wipe the sweat off of his brow, "really, Aveline? This again?"

The guard captain had come to visit him earlier that day and they had both been outside in the courtyard checking the garden for infestations of insects and making sure the Elfroot was growing well. When Aveline brought up the topic of the night guard patrol in Hightown, again, they had been pulling dead leaves and flowers from the bushes lining the walls. She continued working but was paying more attention to the conversation,

"Yes, this again. I worry about your safety, you know this. It's only a matter of time before a group of Tevinter hunters decides to finally attack you at home instead of goading you out of town. Don't give me that look, Nero, I know you fought them off alone for a couple of years before you arrived in Kirkwall. All I'm saying is that was three years ago, if any of them have any brains they will have changed their tactics and your here all alone-"

"And you know I prefer it that way, Aveline. I will not put the lives of your guards at risk over an escaped slave just because I'm your friend. That's not fair to them and it will cause more problems than anything else, you know this. Why do you continue to push this even now?" Nero rolled his eyes and looked at the roof of the estate surrounding them, noting that there appeared to be yet another hole, sometimes he wished more people did live in the mansion just so he would know about leaks before they got that bad.

It hadn't been more than a year after Fenris' departure from Kirkwall that Nero took a look at the mushrooms growing in the corners and the dusty spiderwebs between the posts of the stair railings when he decided he needed to do something about the place. He couldn't, however, resign himself to cleaning a magister's estate of his own free will. So he did the next best thing and he bought the place.

Not in his own name, of course. All he had done was contribute the money to Hawke, who had gone to the Viscount himself about the property. Dumar had a difficult time when it came to turning Hawke away, given that the man rescued his son, so he told Seneschal Bran to look into the matter. Conveniently, ownership to the estate was confused, they suspected the previous guard captain had a hand in the affair; when the papers naming the owner of the estate were dug up they found two copies. One was signed by the Viscount himself stating that the property belonged to a wine merchant from Tevinter, although deceased was written in the top corner of the paper, signed by Bran. The other paper stated that the property was owned by a Denarius of Tevinter with an obviously forged signature on the bottom. Bran rolled his eyes when he found it, they were constantly coming across forged documents since Jeven's arrest, Bran was getting tired of it.

And so the estate was quickly declared property of the city and Bran sent some of his men to assess the worth of the mansion and when they returned Hawke offered to purchase it. Seneschal Bran saw no reason to deny him so now there was only one document claiming ownership to the estate and it was in Hawke's name. The entire process took less than a month, for which Nero was thankful. The agony of waiting for months for the entire thing to go through would have driven him mad.

It was Aveline's turn to heave a frustrated sigh as she got up and grabbed the pitcher on the table in the center of the yard on her way to the water pump by the kitchen door. Returning to the table she filled both cups and sat down, motioning to the empty chair beside her for Nero to join her. As he did she emptied her cup and set it back down on the table before speaking.

"There have been...complaints. For the first couple of years your neighbors just assumed that you were a servant for the estate and that Hawke had bought the place for someone that hadn't arrived in Kirkwall yet. But they have started to notice that it's only you here, and have drawn the conclusions that it will continue to only be you. The Viscount has been getting letters almost weekly demanding that you be evicted, in the very least. Dumar got wind that we were friends and has since sent the letters my way."

"Is that so? I can't say I'm surprised. Slavery may be abolished here but elves are good for little else in Hightown than serving." Nero smiled wryly, "I'm not oblivious to the looks of disdain I receive when I leave the mansion and walk around with blades at my hips, you know. What does this have to do with the nightly guard?"

"Some of the letters...haven't been very friendly. There have been a series of letters from Eugene de Montford with barely concealed threats against your safety. I just think that an increase in guard patrol will prevent the boy from doing anything that he and his family may later regret."

Nero laughed, "I think I can handle some nobleman upstart that thinks he can pick on the sad little elf living in a mansion. If you're that paranoid about it why not ask Hawke to have a few...words with this Eugene de Montford? I do know how much he loves throwing his non-noble upbringing in our neighbors' faces, this would be perfect. He gets the opportunity to scare the wits out of some nobleman's brat."

Nero smiled at the pure joy he would see on Hawke's face at the news; it was ironic how proud Hawke was of his upbringing in relation to the upbringing his new neighbors had had; of which the nobles were equally as proud of. Luckily Nero's relationship with Hawke hadn't been damaged by their fight very much. Once Hawke was informed why Nero had reacted the way he did he understood and even occasionally felt a spark of guilt about the scar he left on the other man's bottom lip. Neither dwelled on it and they never spoke of it for the first couple of years, silently agreeing that it was a situation best left ignored. Now, though, they occasionally made jibes at each others fighting ability; it often intertwined with other jibes they threw at each other. Despite their camaraderie, however, Nero still found a part of him disliking the other man, just a little.

Aveline scowled at Nero's suggestion, "I can't knowingly place Hawke in another position to embarrass a nobleman's son, it was disastrous before."

"You know you thought it was funny." Nero smirked.

Aveline allowed herself a small smile, "Okay, maybe a bit."

They were referring to the incident a few months before when Anders had begun to charge his clients from Hightown when they needed...discreet healing. It had taken a while but Varric had finally convinced the mage that the nobles that used him should be charged for using the time and resources he could be using on people that really needed it. When he did, one of the De Launcet boys, the one that wasn't a mage, threw a fit and demanded he be treated for free. When Hawke got involved they found out that the lad was only given a small allowance each week and that he was angry that he wouldn't be able to spend every copper on alcohol or drugs or whatever it was he bought. Hawke convinced him to suck it up, and the boy agreed, but not before pissing himself when Hawke threatened to rip his cock off.

Nero, still smiling at the memory, said "besides every other excuse I have, you know that increasing the guard around here is a bad idea because if something did happen and the guard did get involved then they would have to submit a report, and your law-abiding nature would demand that you file the report and we both know that I can't have my name floating around the city records. I am trying to maintain a discreet existence here, despite how amazingly I may be failing at it."

"One of these days I am going to convince you to let it happen." Aveline scowled.

Nero snorted, "one of these days I am going to convince you to drop it."

Aveline gave a small smile before letting her gaze drift over the garden. After Nero had purchased the place he had begun the daunting task of fixing it up, putting a lot of the money he had earned from the Deepraods into the task. He painted, replaced furniture, dusted, cleaned, and overall got the place back to a more socially presentable state. She had come to visit him one day when he was tackling the excess foliage in the courtyard and had offered her help. They hadn't made much of a dent the first day but she had enjoyed it none-the-less. When she was a girl her mother had a garden and Aveline had often worked on it with her since she didn't have many friends growing up.

About a year and a half after the Deeproads Aveline had shown up to work on the yard, as she did a couple of times a week for a few hours, when she came upon Anders and Nero tilling three large plots in the corner of the yard. When she asked they told her that Nero had been visiting Anders in the clinic a few weeks before when he realized that Anders used up a lot of Elfroot in his clinic and that it was usually what a lot of his money went towards when he ran out of the plant. Nero, knowing he had a lot of space in his yard, had offered to grow some for him. Now there were three large patches of earth dedicated to growing Elfroot, each patch had plants maturing at different times in the year. They had even erected a greenhouse around the plots and now the Elfroot grew quicker than before, each patch producing two crops of mature Elfroot a year.

Aveline smiled at a memory of the disaster that took place when they erected the greenhouse. Hawke had been over to assist, but the man was useless when it came to building and when he had stormed off in frustration at hitting his thumb with the hammer, again, he had put a nail through his foot. Luckily Anders had also been there so it was dealt with rather quickly, but Aveline was certain that was the only time she had ever seen the warrior almost cry.

She shook her head to clear it of the thoughts and realized it must be getting late. She looked at the elf lounging lazily in the chair beside her, "it's probably time for me to go but before I do I need to ask, even though I'm sure you've told me multiple times, why it is you decided to put all of your hard earned money into this stupid place?"

Nero stood to escort the Guard Captain from his home, "I'll tell you what I always tell you then, a dilapidated, abandoned estate is going to stick out more around here than one kept in a more or less acceptable state. And, as I mentioned earlier, I am trying not to stick out."

"And failing miserably." Aveline added with a smirk

...

Fenris was standing in front of Denarius' estate, taking in its new appearance. Sure Isabela had mentioned that Nero had purchased the place in Hawke's name, but she forgot to add that he had actually gone about restoring the place. He had found himself staring at it for quite some time now, trying to assure himself that this was the place he had lived for nearly a year all that time ago. It was hard to imagine.

Shaking his head he stepped forward and tried the front door, unsure if he should be surprised or not that it wasn't locked, and stepped inside. Unsurprisingly the inside was just as meticulate as the outside, if slightly dusty.

Slowly the elf made his way through the main room and up the stairs leading to the room he had used before. Although he hadn't been sure what to expect, he was still rather surprised to find that his room didn't look like the rest of the mansion at all. The furniture he had broken before had been replaced by similar furniture found elsewhere in the estate but other than that the place didn't appear to have been touched. How peculiar...a thick layer of dust covered everything and after setting his pack down next to the bed Fenris opened the thick curtains to let the sunlight in.

Mots of dust that he had stirred up in walking across the room were illuminated by the setting sun, an orange mist in the abandoned room. Fenris' eyes slowly roved over the room, it's almost like a completely different house compared to the rest of the estate, he thought.

Deciding it would probably be a good idea to let Nero know that he was back, and to see if the other man would allow him to stay in the mansion, he left the room and headed down the stairs. Making his way to where Nero's room used to be he tried to ignore the apprehension twisting his stomach. He was nervous, he hadn't told anyone but the dwarf that he was leaving and he didn't really know how Nero would react to his return. Would he be pleased? Angry? Isabela hadn't made it sound like anybody was angry with him for leaving so unexpectedly, but that didn't mean that nobody was.

The door was slightly ajar and, gently pushing it open, he found the room was obviously still inhabited, despite being empty at the moment. There was a small stack of books at the end of the bed and one was laying open on the nightstand, there was a plush rug on the floor now, and the blankets for the bed were a lot thicker looking than before. The room had a faint lemon smell and there was a bottle of unopened wine sitting on the table by the fireplace.

Fenris continued his search for Nero and made his way towards the kitchen, which was also empty. He noticed that there was a loaf of bread on the counter with a knife stuck in it, and, cutting himself a slice, he found that it was still warm. Clearly he's here somewhere, shoving the bread in his mouth he glanced out the window and froze at the sight.

Not only was there a garden, a bed of flowers, and a gazebo in the center, there was also a small fountain set against the wall with a pool of water surrounding it. On one of the stone benches beside the fountain was a shirtless Nero laying face-down, the fingers of one hand skimming the surface of the water and one of his knees touching the ground. Fenris swallowed the bread painfully and what felt like a cloud of butterflies fluttered in his chest. Nero's eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep, his dark hair glittering red in the setting sun. Fenris noticed that the tattoo on his shoulder didn't seem to stand out quite as much as it did when he had first seen it, and his skin was very dark in comparison to how pale he remembered it being. And he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but the man seemed to be a fair bit thicker than he used to be. Whereas he was once almost wiry he was now fairly muscular. When, exactly, did i make this observation? he thought.

Realizing that he was ogling he forced his eyes away and headed to the door leading outside. When he closed the door behind him Nero's eyes flew open and shot to his direction, and even though not a muscle moved Fenris had no doubts that if he was an unwelcome intruder then Nero would be on him in a flash. He tried not to let his mind venture down the path of what it would be like if Nero was on him.

This must be what an adolescent boy feels like, he thought wryly.

Nero found himself frozen as he took in the form of the elf by the door. When his mind finally comprehended that it was, in fact, Fenris. a tsunami of some emotion crashed over him. Apprehension, fear, excitement? He wasn't sure which, and wondered if it wasn't actually all of them at once. Forcing himself out of his surprise, he got up off the bench and slowly made his way over to the elf, taking in his appearance at the same time.

Fenris looked exhausted, there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked almost pale. Nero got the impression that he had lost weight, judging by what he could see of the elfs arms there was almost no doubt, he was definitely bony...or bonier, as it were. His white hair didn't seem as bright as it once was either and it hung from the man's head lifelessly. He looked malnourished and Nero found himself wondering, as he so often did, where the man had been.

He stopped an arms reach away from him and couldn't stop himself from asking, "Fenris? Really?"

Fenris took in the disbelieving look on the other man's face and nodded slightly. Suddenly there were strong arms around him and a very naked chest pressed against own, bringing him back to the last time that he had seen Nero. Even so, his body instinctively tensed at the touch and just as quickly as it had happened it was over and he silently cursed himself.

"Maker's breath, I had thought maybe you had been caught by slavers or that you had been killed. You were away so long." Nero said sadly.

"Not quite," Fenris smirked, "it was not for a lack of trying on their part though, I assure you."

Nero smiled and Fenris finally noticed the scar on the other man's bottom lip. He frowned but before he had the opportunity to say anything about it the door flew open behind him and threw him foreword into the other man.

"You two are so cute," Isabela chuckled when she saw them both blush, "I saw Hawke and Varric at the Hanged Man and told them who returned and it has been decided that there will be a party."

Fenris frowned, "But-"

"No offense, Fenris, but stuff it. We've all missed you so go get cleaned up and changed and we can go get our drink on." Isabela beamed before settling her eyes on Nero. Leering at him she said, "I think it'll be alright if you don't get dressed though Nero, I quite like you half-naked...or fully naked. Mmm naked."

Nero scowled, "how do you always make me feel so dirty?"

Isabela laughed loudly, "I don't, I remind you of just how dirty you really are is all."


	3. Chapter 3

"Ugh, I'm done." Nero said as he threw his cards on the table, "I should just start betting my services, I don't think I can handle losing much more coin."

"Mmm," Isabela purred from across the table "I approve of that."

Nero scowled at her and took a long drink as Varric laughed beside him, "you say that every time you play, Nero. You could just stop playing."

Nero snorted, "that's usually my plan, but by the time I come back here and you start another game I've already convinced myself that I'll be able to win it all back. There is something wrong with me, I'm an idiot."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, at least your pretty." Isabela offered.

Hawke frowned from where he was seated beside her, "he's not pretty, I'm pretty. Besides someone put that ugly scar on his face, you don't want that." He teased.

"I'll have you know the ladies tell me that my scar makes me look like a bad ass mother fucker." Nero said.

"Are these the same ladies that I see in my clinic all the time?" Anders asked with mock innocence, "they seem like the type that would go for naughty scarred boys."

"You insult me," Nero scoffed, "I do not sleep with the people that would venture to your clinic. I am disease free, I assure you."

Anders laughed, "or you're just too embarrassed to come to me to heal you and seek treatment elsewhere."

"I've never felt a burning sensation when I pee, I'll have you know."

"Sometimes it doesn't, I've treated plenty of people-"

"I don't think sexual diseases is the best topic of choice when one is supposed to be celebrating. Maybe you and Isabela can chat about it later." Nero chuckled.

"Hey!" Isabela hiccuped while Anders frowned and folded his arms across his chest.

"Ahh,"Fenris sighed, "sour ale, vomit, the smell of desperation and peculiar people talking about sexual diseases. How did I forget to miss this place?"

"It's only early, yet." Hawke said.

Fenris frowned, "Excellent point. "

"And this is one of the better taverns around here." Anders added

"They let you in. It can't be that much better. " Fenris grumbled.

"Do you like anything?" Merrill asked

He scowled at her "I like quiet."

"You've come to the wrong place then," Varric chuckled.

"Indeed."

"Anyway," Hawke said loudly, "you haven't told us where you've been, Fenris."

Fenris looked up from the cards in his hand and tossed two into the pile on the table, picking up two more, "nowhere important really, I was in a small village in Antiva for a while. Then some slavers went through town and after I killed them the villagers didn't like me too much, so I left. The only other place I spent any amount of time was Starkhaven, a farmer there produces some of the best apples I've ever had."

"Didn't you tell me you had been hired once by the Prince of Starkhaven?" Merrill asked Hawke from where she was seated on the other side of Isabela.

Nero scowled, not at the question, but at the reminder that she was even there. He had slowly grown accustomed to her being around over the years but he still didn't like her. It wasn't just because she reminded him of his past, but because she was just so...dumb. For someone who had made a deal with a demon she had one sheltered outlook on the world. Nero found her ignorance exhausting and hated it when Isabela brought the little elf along with her.

"Yes I did, I don't think you were there, Fenris, but we were hired to kill the men that had been hired to kill the royal family. I've actually run into him a couple times over the last few years, hes been traveling around the free marches trying to raise army to take back Starkhaven." Hawke explained.

Fenris nodded, "while I was there I had overheard people talking about the only member of the family that wasn't murdered. Apparently this prince was given to the Chantry? I thought so, his cousin or something is ruling the city now. The place is a mess, people are divided as to who should be running the city. Merchants wont sell to certain people and I witnessed several skirmishes over who got to use what stall, many people not wanting to sell next to someone who favors the opinion that opposes theirs. It was idiotic."

"Sounds it," Hawke nodded, "I wonder if that Sebastian ever got his army and went back to claim his throne. Have you heard anything about it Varric?"

"Nope," Varric replied, "but I have heard a funny story. Apparently there were Templars seen coming from that clinic in Darktown, run by that mage, oh, whats his name?"

Anders scowled, "they were Templar recruits and what is this? Are you spying on me?"

"What, me? Never!" Varric laughed, "I deal in the business of information, Anders, try not to feel scandalized. So what's the story?"

"I think someone at the Blooming Rose has a disease, I keep getting these Templar recruits with sudden unexplainable rashes and ...issues down south. It's getting very old, having to waist my time treating them without using magic. I tried to turn them away but they tend to offer a lot to have their problems dealt with."

"I see that even a Templar can use you if he has enough coin." Fenris growled.

Anders stood up from his chair with an exasperated sigh, "I was wondering why I came to this little celebration. I think I had convinced myself that you weren't really that much of an insufferable ass. I'm going home."

"Good riddance." Fenris muttered.

Nero tsked, "here I though you were having a good time."

Fenris rolled his eyes, "I am despite the over-abundance of mage."

Merrill wilted at the insult and muttered "I think I should go too."

"Well now you've hurt Daisy's feelings Fenris," Isabela frowned, "come along then Merrill, I'll walk you home."

"Oh, thank you, I fear that I still get lost in this city, especially at night. How do people know where to go? All the buildings look the same!"

Hawke watched as the two women left and shook his head, "I don't understand how she can get so lost in the city, but not out in the woods where all the trees look the same."

Nero chuckled, "I think she lacks brain cells, I'm positive of it in fact."

Hawke frowned, "do you really have to insult her?"

"I don't have to, no. But it's so very easy."

"So how's Bethany, Hawke?" Varric said once the unnerving silence stretched for too long.

Hawke perked up at the mention of his sister, "great, she says that she met the King a few months ago. He and my cousin were very close, having been the only two Gray Wardens in Ferelden during the blight."

"Cousin?" Fenris asked confusedly.

"Oh, I suppose you weren't here when we found out. Bethany was sent to Vigil's Keep in Ferelden, apparently my second cousin Daylen Amell is the Warden Commander and Arl of Amaranthine there. Bethany was quite surprised to discover that she was to be commanded by the Hero of Ferelden, much less our cousin, I tell you. Anyway, apparently King Alistair is still struggling with the whole being a king thing and repeatedly told my sister and the other Wardens to call him Alistair and act like they would around any other Gray Warden." Hawke chuckled, "apparently Oghren, a dwarven Warden that had also traveled with Alistair and my cousin, responded to Alistair's pleas by burping in his face. I would pay to see that."

"Maybe if we got Isabela drunk enough we could find this Starkhaven Prince and get her to burp in his face."

Hawke laughed, "I think she's more likely to sleep with him. Or try to, don't chantry brothers take a vow of chastity?"

"I think so" Varric replied.

"Good lord, why?" Nero demanded with an offended expression, "doesn't the chantry teach that everything was created by the maker? Doesn't that mean he would have given people sex drives? Wouldn't a brother or sister be defying the maker by refusing to ever have sex?"

"Maybe they think that denying their nature would make them more worthy in the Maker's eyes?" Hawke guessed

Nero snorted, "it sounds like a fools way of saying that hes better than everyone else. Didn't the maker abandon us? why the hell would they want to make themselves more worthy to someone that doesn't give a damn?" he paused and furrowed his brow, "this is why I don't think about the chantry, ugh."

Hawke laughed, "don't say that in Orlais, I hear the divine is one hell of a harsh woman and has even had people executed for not getting out of her way fast enough when shes walking down the street."

"That's hardly surprising," Fenris scoffed, "power can corrupt even the strongest person."

...

Nero was thankful that he didn't bother wearing his usual clothing, instead choosing a thin shirt and a pair of shorts, it had been a hot day and even though the moon was high in the sky it was still warm. A part of him wondered if maybe that was an effect of the ale he had been drinking, but he didn't think so. The ale was contributing heavily to his slightly stumbling walk however, and there seemed to be a fuzziness at the edges of his vision but he didn't care, Fenris was back and they were both in a good mood. And walking home alone now that Hawke had separated from them to head to his own estate.

"So who invited the blood mage anyway?" Fenris asked

Nero sighed, "Isabela seems to have struck up a friendship with Merrill. I think she's drawn to Merrill's sort-of innocence."

Fenris snorted, "I don't think Isabela even knows what innocence is."

"I think she does, and that shes intent upon corrupting it."

Fenris chuckled.

"I'm more curious as to who thought inviting Anders was a good idea. Never mind the fact that he actually came."

"Whoever's idea it was, I really wish they had thought about it longer. I can't exactly say I missed the abomination."

"Oh," Nero stopped and pointed down an alley between two houses, "its the cat! I've been trying to catch that fluffy bastard for weeks. Come here kitty, I just want to love you." He slowly made his way to the middle of the alley where a large, fluffy, black and white cat was sitting on a crate. It stood as he got closer, wary of the approach of the two men.

"Since when do you have a thing for cats?" Fenris asked.

"Since I caught sight of this little guy in the garden, he's so fluffy! How can you not want to keep something so fluffy?" He said quietly as he slowed his approach and bent down.

He was almost close enough to reach the cat with an outstretched arm when it bolted away. He sighed and let his head fall to his knees in defeat. With a frown he stood up and turned to head back the way he had come only to find himself nearly chest to chest with Fenris. Suddenly the fluttering warmth was back in his chest and he found himself staring at the elf's lips, trying to imagine what they would feel like pressed against his own. He nearly trembled at the thought.

Fenris wasn't sure if it was the drink or not but he did not shy away from how physically close he was to Nero. Instead he realized that he wanted to be closer, he was almost unnerved by how desperately he wanted to repeat the short-lived hug from earlier that day, and so much more. He wanted to fall asleep in Nero's arms again, he had slept so well that night. His eyes searched the other man's face, for what he wasn't sure. He realized that he was studying the small scar on Nero's lip and without noticing what he was doing, he closed the space between them and raised a hand to gently touch the scar, enjoying the feeling of the soft skin under his fingertips.

"I am told that it is my fault Hawke gave you this." He muttered.

A small smile graced Nero's lips, "technically it's my fault, I goaded him into it." he replied quietly.

Concern flickered across Fenris' face, "even so..."

Slowly Nero rose one of his hands and placed it against the elf's cheek gently, his smile faded and he looked into Fenris' eyes before speaking carefully, "I...missed you."

For a moment neither one of them moved, then, coming to a decision, Nero leaned forward and lay his lips on Fenris'. Fenris inwardly moaned at the contact, feeling like something was going to explode in his chest, and he grabbed the other man at the waist and roughly pulled him flush against himself. Despite the urgency Fenris was showing, Nero continued to move slowly, he did not wish to rush, he wanted to savor the moment. He had spent three years imagining kissing Fenris, and now that he was, he planned to savor it.

Realizing that Nero was not responding to his excitement he forced himself to calm down and to do, more or less, what Nero was doing. The other man seemed intent upon taking it slow, and slowly Fenris began to realize that this kiss was completely different from all the others he had had. It was slow where the others had been fast and gentle where the others had been rough. He nearly lost himself again when he realized just how pleasant this slow and gentle kiss was. He felt Nero's tongue on his lips and parted them to give it entrance and allowed himself to fall back against the wall behind him.

Fenris would later wonder if he would have heard the approaching footsteps if Nero hadn't been gently sucking on his lower lip. As it was he only became aware of other people in the alley when Nero was pulled from him and somebody hit him across the face with a club and then dragged him back the way he had entered the alley. Through the sudden fog and haze in his mind and vision he saw Nero being dragged away in the opposite direction by men with their hoods up, so that their faces were hidden in shadow.

A sudden rage engulfed him and he grabbed the ankle of the man standing beside him and pulled, sending the man sprawling to the ground. He would have heard a yell if he wasn't deafened by the sound of the blood pounding in his head. He quickly rose and caught the man running towards him by the neck and, activating his tattoos, he reached in and crushed the man's heart. He let the body drop unceremoniously to the ground and was turning to do something similar to the man struggling to stand up when he felt a sharp pain in his upper arm. Looking down he was frustrated to see that an arrow was sticking out of his bicep, a spot that would generally be covered by his pauldrons, and he cursed himself for not wearing his armor, nor bringing his weapon.

Growling he pulled the arrow from his arm and shoved it into the skull of the man on the ground, his eyeball making a sickening pop when the arrow pierced it. Then in three quick strides he was in front of the archer and, knocking the bow away, he reached into his chest to grab the man's spine and snapped it. He didn't stop to watch the archer fall, instead turning to face the men that had grabbed Nero.

At which point he was stopped short. They were gone, and even when he made his way to the other end of the ally he could see no trace that they had even been there.

"Mauris, venhedis, fasta vass!" he spat out into the darkness.

Fenris was no hunter and after searching the area for a sign of where they had taken Nero, he admitted defeat and decided it was time to seek help. Clenching his fists he backtracked to Hawke's estate, kicking one of his attackers as he walked by.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: disturbing themes

With a moan of pain Nero tried to rouse himself from the headache that was making him feel particularly delirious. He didn't realize that he was shackled until he tried to grab his throbbing head with his hands and heard the clink of chains above his head instead.

Panic seized him and he forced his eyes open only to look up and see that his wrists were encircled in iron cuffs. They were attached to a thick chain hanging from the ceiling. He choked back a scream of terror, but he could not stop himself from trying to pull his hands free. The clinking from his efforts, however, only served to alert his captors that he was awake. Nero only barely realized that he was tearing the skin off of his wrists when he was slapped across the face, hard.

"Stop struggling, you're wasting your time."

Nero fought to suppress the panic overpowering him just as much as he had struggled to free himself from his chains moments before. He forced himself to assess the situation in hopes that it would somehow stop his mind from remembering all the other times he had been chained like this and the horror that the position usually entailed.

He remembered being torn from Fenris, and had a vague recollection of being taken from the ally before he had been knocked out. After that he had clearly been brought to this place, wherever it was. He was in a fairly small, windowless room, with a doorway leading to another room that looked only marginally bigger. He could see a table with numerous chairs around it and a few men playing cards, but other than that it did not appear the other room had anything else worth noting.

Nero was on his knees, which were being pressed uncomfortably by his weight into the grate that seemed to be covering a drain and if he didn't know better he would say he was being kept in a bathing room of some sort. But he had seen similar drains before and, after seeing the dried blood at the corners of the grate and the bloodstains on the floor, he was certain that if this had ever been a bathroom it sure as the void wasn't one now.

He was chained in the very center of the room, so that he could be attacked on all sides if need be, he was sure. It was very dark, the only light coming from the candles sitting on the table behind him and the small fireplace in the next room. There was definitely no light coming from the small wood stove in the corner in front of him, for which he was mildly grateful. Despite the fact that he appeared to be shirtless he was still fairly warm, although now that he thought of it, if he was sweating he would maybe have an easier time of trying to get his hands through the cuffs.

He twisted his position as quietly as he could, the man that had slapped him was now standing in the doorway and he was sure he would be hit again, or worse, if he made any sort of noise. As it was, he managed to turn his head so that he could get a glance at the corner of the table, and what he saw there brought the panic bubbling over.

Esperance had had a similar whip, although she didn't' use it as often as she made use of her demons and magics. It was made of numerous leather strips attached to a foot-long handle, from experience he knew that that in itself could cause a lot of pain. However, there were multiple jagged metal shards stitched to each leather strip, metal shards that were sharp and hooked and would serve to rip chunks of flesh from anybody unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it's use.

Any thoughts other than 'escape!' eluded him and with a yell he renewed his attempts to pull his hands free of the cuffs. With renewed desperation he called for whatever aid he could get from the essence around him.

In the other room the men playing cards looked up at the noise. A couple of men barely had time to stand before there were thick roots breaking the cemented floor and shooting up to the ceiling, forcing themselves through everything in their way. Chunks of concrete and shards of wood went flying, chairs where destroyed and the table was thrown to it's side. One of Nero's captors was impaled, a root puncturing his abdomen, and many others were pushed aside.

Water began to trickle up from the new cracks in the floor, droplets rose in the air and froze before shooting through the room, superficially wounding the men and blinding one of them.

"He's a fucking mage!" the man who had slapped him yelled.

But Nero did not hear it over his own screaming and the rush of energy flying throughout the room. One of the branches had upset the stove in front of him and when he subconsciously realized that the logs had not completely burned to cinders and that the ends of them were still glowing his power surged forth and stoked the fire. When the flame was sufficient it curled throughout the room and led into the next, where it set one man's entire body aflame and burnt another ones face.

Nero's hands were now stuck inside of the cuffs, although they were almost free. Blood was trickling down his arms and with a final tug he yanked them out, barely aware of the skin coming off with the motion. As he began to raise himself from his knees, however, somebody managed to get behind him.

Nero's vision went stark white then quickly faded into black as he was hit on the back of the head with a broken chair. As he fell the havoc around him ceased. His escape attempt had failed.

...

He wasn't sure if he was conscious or if he was still dreaming. His head was fuzzy and he couldn't focus his mind nor his sight on anything. He couldn't tell if his back and arms really were burning or if he was imagining things.

The first time had woken up he had been at the mercy of Esperance, fortunately she was in the mood to tear him apart emotionally rather than physically. She reminded him of his failure to protect Arsenio, the disappointment he had proven to be to both her, the Archon and his first client. The disappointment he was now, having allowed himself to be caught. She had scraped her nails along his cheek and forced him to kiss her, then set an electricity spell on him when he refused to do so.

The second time he had awoken it was to his own screams. The whip was being used on him, one moment by Esperance, one moment by Arsenio, the next moment by a man whose face he did not recognize. He watched the blood splatter onto the walls and the person whipping him as if he was not the one enduring it. He couldn't really feel the wounds being inflicted upon him, as though the pain was so intense that his brain couldn't possibly interpret it.

The third time broth-soaked bread was being shoved in his mouth and somebody was rubbing something onto his back. At first he thought maybe it was to dull the ache as initially it was a cool sensation. And then it burned and stung and he cried out once more before darkness enveloped him.

There were numerous other times he remembered similar things happening after that. He faintly wondered how long this had been going on, had it been hours? Days? Weeks? Did it matter? He was having a hard time remembering if escaping and living in Kirkwall was a dream, or if it had actually happened. Maybe it was a fantasy he had made for himself. He struggled to focus on it, to remember, but he could not and soon his attention was wandering, vaguely he listened to the conversation taking place from behind him. Or inside him, or maybe he was partaking in it. He didn't know anymore.

"I cannot describe how pleased i am to finally see this, this...knife-ear paying for his nerve. Who does he think he is, living in Hightown? They should all just be exterminated." a young male voice was saying.

"Yes, ser." another voice agreed without any conviction.

Footsteps made their way from behind him to in front of him, a hand grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head up from where Nero had been resting it against his he opened his eyes he could barely make out the blurred face.

"Hmm," the face said, "I've had an interesting thought. He always seemed so proud of himself, when he walked about, as though he thinks being a kinfe-ear is something less than atrocious." the voice chuckled, twisted promises hidden in the sound, "how fitting would it be to take a knife to his ears?" The hand holding his hair let go and the man in front of him stood and walked to the doorway, "take away his badge of honor. Give him ears a human would be proud of."

"As you say, messere."

...

His ears were throbbing where the tips had been cut off, and now they were so swollen that he was having a hard time hearing. He wondered sometimes how he was still alive, it seemed to him that he had been losing a lot of blood. Was Esperance healing him? Why did everything still burn if that was the case? If he moved too much he felt scabs all over his body crack and start bleeding again, so evidently he still had wounds. Nero would have shaken his head at the confusion but he had neither the strength nor the will to do so, instead he let his mind wander freely, no longer caring to try to focus it.

"Perhaps if he is a mage we should send for Otto Alrik? That would provide a more permanent solution to your problem without outright murder wouldn't it, Eugene?"

"Hmm, you bring up a good point. Yes, do that. It wouldn't be a bad thing to start friendly relations between my family and the Templars. Emile has brought so much shame upon us, I do not know why my parents continue to fret about him. Would you be so kind as to lend me some clothing? I think i would like to make use of this very interesting whip you have here."

"Of course, messere."

Nero felt water dripping down his face and didn't realize for several moments that he was crying. He would have preferred if they had intended to kill him.

...

Out of the corner of his eye he could see silver reflecting candlelight at him and he wondered if he would have winced if he could be bothered. He also wondered what he would see if he, by chance, caught a reflection of himself in the armor belonging to the Templar. Then he decided he was probably better off not knowing.

"How long has it been here?" the armor asked.

"About three weeks now, Ser Alrik." The voice that was Eugene's replied.

"You said you were using magebane? For this length of time that must be getting tremendously expensive."

Eugene chuckled, "it is no problem, i assure you. I am rather surprised at how delirious it seems to be making him."

"Ah yes, continued usage will do that. I've always found it quite entertaining."

"That it is."

"Yes, well. I will have the tranquility brand sent here. Then you wont have to keep using the magebane. Of course, you will let me play with him afterwords, yes?"

"Of course, ser."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a month since Nero had been taken, and they were beginning to lose hope. Varric had gotten a couple of leads about places where mercenaries held people they had captured, but so far none of the places had born any sign of Nero.

Fenris and Hawke had searched that entire night for a trace, even breaking into every house with a doorway or a window near the end of the alley that Nero had been dragged off from. Either they had missed something, which they both highly doubted, having gone back to the area time after time, or the captors had moved on sometime between Nero being taken and Fenris seeking Hawkes aid.

Fenris was a mess, he had not been sleeping often and when he did it wasn't for very long. When he ate it was because Isabela or Varric forced him to. The only explanation they could come up with was that Nero had been captured by people working for Tevinter hunters, and it literally made Fenris sick when he thought of what they would be doing to him. He should have fought harder, he should have taken his sword with him to the tavern, he should have-

"Stop it."Anders interrupted his thoughts.

He scowled at the mage, "stop what?"

"You're blaming yourself, I can tell. You cannot change what happened, and beating yourself up over it isn't going to help you find him."

"Leave me be, mage." Fenris growled.

"He's my friend too, Fenris, we'll find him. And if he is back in Tevinter then we will go there and get him."

Easy to say now, how quickly will you change your mind when you realize you'll be pissing off the leader of the only country where mages aren't controlled? Fenris thought to himself angrily, but did not reply.

"Maybe we'll be lucky," Isabela said, "maybe this time he actually will be here."

Fenris snorted, any hope he had of finding Nero in Kirkwall was long gone. But even so, he was still traversing the Undercity to head to another location that Varric had told them about. If nothing else he would at least be able to kill things. Killing things always cheered him up, for a time. Until the adrenaline was gone and he again fell into the lost place he had been this past month.

"I don't imagine that would be the place, do you?" Hawke quipped from the head of the group. He motioned towards the two armored men standing guard by a door a few feet ahead of them.

"Hmm, they don't usually have guards do they? They must be catching on... or Nero really is in there." Isabela said.

"Lets go find out then." Hawke cheerfully sauntered up to the two men with the others in tow, "good evening gentlemen, I'm looking for a friend."

One of the guards snarled and put a hand on the hilt of his sword, "you will find no friends here."

Hawke frowned dramatically, "well I wasn't looking to make new friends."

"I suggest you leave." the other guard said before pulling his blade from its scabbard.

Hawke heaved a frustrated sigh and pulled his own blade free, stabbing one of the guards in the chest at the same time Isabela appeared behind the other one and slit his throat. Hawke opened the door to the hovel and stepped inside to find four more men; three mercenaries and a Templar. When Anders caught sight of said Templar, Justice appeared and with one swing of his staff shards of ice broke the table and impaled the four men, killing them almost instantly.

Two more mercenaries appeared in the doorway leading to another room and, swearing, they pulled their blades, ready to fight. Fenris, irritated that he might not get to kill anything, rushed forward and beheaded the two men with a sweep of his sword.

Disappointed, Fenris looked around the room, taking in it's rather peculiar appearance. There was the table toppled over on its side, a few chairs and some supplies and crates along the walls, but most interesting were the tree roots sticking from cracks in the floor and reaching into the ceiling. It gave the place a rather abandoned, overgrown, ruin look. Peculiar scorch marks placed high up on the wall indicated to him a fight, although it did not look as though it took place very recently.

Ignoring the bodies on the floor he turned to enter the other room and stopped short. He didn't even notice more scorch marks on the floor as he took in the state of the man kneeling in the center of the room, the shackles around his wrists the only thing holding him upright.

The man's back was covered in blood, most of it dried, and there were gouges of flesh torn from various places. His ears were swollen, that much was obvious even through the crusted blood, and there were multiple trails of long dried blood going down his chest and over his jutting ribs. In addition to everything else it did not look as though he had eaten much for weeks.

"Holy shit." Hawke gasped.

"Maker's breath." Isabela breathed.

"For his sake I almost hope that that isn't really him." Anders muttered.

Ignoring them Fenris approached the man and knelt in front of him. Gently he placed a hand under the other man's chin and raised his head to search his face for signs of life. He breathed a sigh of relief when the other man's eyelids fluttered open. Dull purple eyes looked at him blankly for several moments, then Nero's brow slightly knit in confusion and they flickered back and forth as though they were trying to focus, but couldn't.

"I imagine one of these keys is for the shackles, I...I don't imagine he's going to be able to support himself...be ready to catch him, Fenris." Hawke said quietly before reaching up and using the keys he had pulled off of one of the mercenaries belts.

A low blue glow appeared from the table behind Nero, Anders was holding an empty bottle and tossed it back onto the table in disgust.

"Magebane." he said, "the bastards must have been drugging him all this time."

Anders rubbed a hand over his face and the glow faded, having convinced Justice that now was not the time. Settling himself on the floor behind Nero he assessed the damage to the man's back, unsurprisingly the wounds were severe and although he knew that he would be able to heal the more recent ones so that there were no traces, there were still going to be scars from the older ones that had already mostly healed.

Isabela, having felt at a loss for what to do, had been going through the pockets of the men they had killed and had found quite a few silvers. Her interest wasn't peaked however until she found a single key on the Templar. Eying the chest in the corner of the room she rose and, using the key, unlocked it. Inside she found a single brand made from what she guessed was silverite. The brand end itself however had a slight blue glow to it and was shaped into the form of a star...or a sun. The chantry symbol, she realized.

Taking the brand from the chest she joined the men in the adjoining room and, twirling it in her hand, she asked, "is this what I think it is, Anders?"

When he took it from her his skin cracked and he began glowing again, "they were going to try and make him tranquil." he growled and, with disgust and anger evident on his features he shoved it back into her hands before returning to his task.

"Andraste's tits, "Hawke began, "it wasn't enough to do this to him, they were going to turn him into a fucking zombie?" He frowned, "if they thought him an apostate why didn't they just take him to the gallows or the chantry? I hate to say it but that would have been a better fate than this." He frowned sadly as a key finally fit into the lock on the shackles, "I found it. I think, Fenris, if you're going to catch him, it probably wouldn't be a terrible idea to lose the armor."

Nodding, Fenris removed his pauldrons and chestpiece and after setting them on the floor beside him, he leaned forwards to let Nero's head rest on his shoulder and tried in vain to find a spot to place his hands and arms that wouldn't be touching a wound.

When Fenris was ready Hawke unlocked one shackle and gently lowered the free arm before unlocking the next one.

"I want to start healing him up now, but I think it would be a better idea to take him back to my clinic so that I can clean the wounds first. Maker, this is going to take days. Hopefully I'll have it all done before the magebane gets completely out of his system. I only hope the delirium it provides is enough to shelter him from the pain."

Fenris nodded silently and adjusted himself so that Nero was against his back and, with Hawke's help, he slowly rose and leaned forward with his hands around the other man's knees so that Nero would lay against his back, his arms over Fenris' shoulders.

Isabela carried the elf's armor and Anders lead them back the way they had come and to his clinic, only stopping a few times so that Fenris could adjust his grip and Anders could stop the bleeding on some of the wounds as they reopened.


	6. Chapter 6

As they approached the clinic one of the refugees was waiting by Anders' locked door and ran up to him as he approached.

"Healer! Where have you been? A group of drunks cornered Lisa and now her arm is broken and I was sent to fetch you ages ago- what the void happened to him." the woman stared.

Anders, unsure how to proceed, found himself looking to Hawke for guidance. With a nod to Anders, Hawke approached the woman and pressed five sovereigns into her hand saying, "Anders is going to be a tad preoccupied for a while I think, take this and go to the gallows, there are healers there that should be able to help you. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to spread word to the other refugees that Anders will be unavailable for at least a week."

"Refuse to pay more than two sovereigns, any more than that and you're being screwed." Anders said before the girl ran off.

When they reached the door he unlocked it and motioned for Fenris to place Nero on an examination table, he gathered some supplies and a bucket of water and began cleaning some of the wounds, starting at the ears. He squeezed one gently and was unsurprised when puss began oozing out.

Isabela gagged, "I would just love to stay for support but I can't handle that. I'm out guys, let me know if I can get you anything."

"As far as I know I have everything I need here, don't worry about it." Anders replied.

"If that's the case I think I'm going to go tell the others we found him. I'll be back later tonight. Should I bring back something to eat?" Hawke asked.

"Sure, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he hasn't eaten much since he was taken. So maybe get something bland and soft." Anders said without looking up.

Hawke nodded and left with Isabela, Anders expected the elf to leave as well and when he didn't he spared him a confused glance.

"Do you plan on staying?"

Fenris started from where he had been watching Nero sleeping face down on the table and glanced at the mage, he nodded in response to the question.

Anders handed him some gauze and indicated Nero's other ear, "clean that ear then, would you?"

Fenris complied and the two of them spent the rest of the evening cleaning Nero's wounds until Hawke returned with a pot of stew that Leandra had made, she had also sent some clean linens and clothes with him and Anders went to his room to make his bed with the blankets for Nero to sleep on. Anders knew that it wouldn't be long before some refugees came that he could not turn away, and wanted to give Nero some privacy when it happened.

When he returned Fenris was eating a bowl of stew and Hawke was trying to rouse Nero to get him to eat as well. Nero groaned, the first real sound they had heard since finding him, and forced his eyes open, trying to make sense of the blurry shapes surrounding him, but he was unsuccessful. He realized that he was laying down and not chained to the ceiling, and for a moment he was terrified, wondering what new torment he was going to endure. Then he realized that he could not feel metal around his wrists at all and he was somewhat relieved. It was always a good thing when he was not shackled, usually it indicated he was going to be able to rest for a few days, until Esperance returned.

Nero realized that someone was trying to get him to sit up, he didn't want to, but he complied anyways, not making a sound when some of the scabs on his back cracked and blood began trickling down it again.

Anders tsked when he realized Nero was bleeding again and, grabbing a piece of gauze, he tried to stem the bleeding again. When that failed he decided it was high time to actually begin healing some of the cuts. He had intended to heal the man's ears first, as they were probably the worst, but he couldn't have Nero bleeding every time he moved. And so he pulled up a chair and set to work.

Fenris, having finished the stew, grabbed a piece of cloth and filled the bucket with some clean water and set about wiping away the dried blood on Nero's chest, the only area that neither he nor Anders had reached earlier. As he was doing that Hawke was trying to convince Nero to eat, but Nero was ignoring him, instead staring at Fenris, his brows knit in frustration as he tried to recall who it was and tried to see through the blurring of his vision.

It took several minutes before Fenris decided he was done cleaning and it was only then that he realized that Nero was watching him. Startled he stared back, unsure what to do.

"It's strange, it's almost like he doesn't recognize us." Hawke observed.

"He probably can't even see us, Hawke. They've been poisoning him for a month, they've used magebane on me before. It's...difficult, while you're on it. I don't dare imagine what he's thinking because of it." Anders spat.

"Will he...recover from it?" Fenris asked quietly, an unfamiliar ache in his chest.

"I don't know." Anders said sadly.

"I can't get him to eat, if he can't see and can't hear then I'm not sure what else to do about it." Hawke said with a sigh, he set the bowl down on the table and paced the room.

"I'll try again later, he'll eat eventually...I hope." Anders shook his head and leaned back in the chair tiredly, to observe his work. He hadn't done much yet, only healed the outermost skin. He ached to do more, but the magebane was making it difficult. While it was in Nero's system it made it difficult for Anders' magic to penetrate very deep into the tissues, and he was forced to use more magic for things that usually wouldn't require that much magic to begin with. "Andraste's flaming knickers, I hate magebane. It is going to be slow going until the poison is out of his system."

Hawke frowned and filled two more bowls with his mother's stew and handed one to Anders before sitting down beside him. "so, is it safe to say the Templars took him?" Hawke asked.

"I don't know, due to a Templar and the tranquility brand being there that seems to be the most likely conclusion," Anders speculated, "but I've never heard of Templars storing a mage at some mercenary hideout, much less torturing them."

"Slavers then?"

"Not unless they hired the mercenaries, maybe the mercenaries then went behind their back and contacted the templars."

"Unlikely, mercenaries aren't likely to betray an employer, its bad for business."

"Hmm...I don't think it's slavers though. Templars are too proud to work with slavers, they wouldn't gain anything from it anyway, not that I can see. Besides, why keep him here, why not simply take him to Tevinter?"

"I suppose we should go back soon and see if we can find anything that might make the situation a little more clear."

"Mmm... oh look, Nero's eating. That's promising."

While the two men spoke Fenris had picked up the bowl of stew and had held a spoonful in front of Nero's mouth. Nero, unsurprisingly, did not make a move to eat, instead he closed his eyes as though the idea of eating was painful.

Fenris frowned and whispered sadly "comedo...si me amas , Nero." [eat, please]

Nero's eyes flew open and he looked at at Fenris sadly before nodding slightly and raising a shaky hand to take the spoon. It was slow going but he made his way through half of the bowl before giving up and slumping, exhausted.

Noticing this, Anders rose and, helping Nero off the table, lead him to the back and to his bedroom. He knew it was probably falling on deaf ears but he told Nero that he would be in the clinic if he needed him anyway.

...

Another month passed as Nero's wounds were slowly healed, being far more extensive than Anders had originally thought. Nero also had some minor internal wounds and a few cracked ribs that had taken Anders a week to heal alone as he needed to heal, then rest, then heal again. The magebane took the better part of three weeks to clear his system, and during that time he was barely lucid and had frequent twitching spells. He spent most of his time resting on Anders' cot and would frequently wake up screaming; this to stopped after the magebane wore off. When Anders had finally gotten the infection out of his ears he found himself with a bit of a mess, and, with Nero's non-verbal consent, he cut away some of the dead tissue and did his best to shape them into human-like ears.

Fenris had stayed as often as he could, only going home to sleep as terribly as he had been while Nero was gone. During the first few weeks after his return Nero did not speak, and he only ate when Fenris urged him to. It wasn't until three and a half weeks into his recovery that he began moving around of his own free will, but usually only when the clinic was empty and Anders was sleeping.

Nero was standing near a window with his arms folded across his chest, looking outside, when Fenris entered. Although he was wearing a baggy shirt Fenris knew that the other man's ribs weren't sticking anymore and he appeared to have regained all the weight he had lost. Physically Nero was back to normal, mentally however...well, he still hadn't said anything, only nodding and shaking his head to answer questions.

Nero spared him a glance out of the corner of his eye when Fenris stood beside him. Since the magebane had worn off Nero had begun to remember bits and pieces of what happened and he no longer believed he was still a slave back in Tevinter. He frowned as he recalled how thoroughly he had forgotten the past five years. His memories of his capture were still confusing him, he was sure the memories of torture in Tevinter and the torture at the hands of the mercenaries were muddled together and he could not sort through them. In truth, he did not wish to. It was one of those things that he found better left ignored.

With an inward groan he dropped his arms and turned to the elf, mentally wincing as he did so. His physical wounds were healed sure, but Anders had informed him that do to the magical healing his body had not adjusted yet to the tightness of his new scar tissue and his mind hadn't caught up with the fact that he wasn't hurt anymore and so he would be stiff and sore for a week or more.

Nero sighed, and pushed away the ghosts of pain before saying "I do not wish to stay here any longer."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -le m/m sexins in this one, you had been le warned.

And so it was that Nero returned to the estate after two months away. On his way through the mansion he glanced out a window at the garden, surprised to see that it wasn't overrun with weeds or whatnot. Suddenly he remembered Aveline dropping by early in his stay at the clinic and mentioning that she had been taking care of it for him. He considered for a moment going out and checking on the plants, but found that he couldn't be bothered, instead heading straight to his room where he grabbed his clothes and drew up a bath.

Fenris had walked home with him and was sitting at the table in the kitchen while Nero cleaned himself up. He was unsure how to act around the other man now. It was much easier when Nero was out of it and Fenris could simply take care of him, but now Nero was lucid, and quiet, and he didn't know what to do or say.

Did Nero even remember that they had kissed? Did he wish to be left alone, or did he want comfort? What kind of comfort did he want? Would he prefer to be held, or drunk, or would he just rather Fenris was nearby? Was there something else he could doing for Nero? Fenris put his head in his hands, he was so lost. In the past two months he had spent most of his time thinking about what Nero was going through and hoping that they could save him, and then he was busy worrying about Nero's health and was busy trying to help. He sincerely wished he had spent some amount of time thinking about this.

Did Nero only kiss him because he had been drunk? The suddenness of the thought made Fenris snap his eyes open. The idea was painful, but why was this the first time he had thought of it? What if Nero didn't want him in that way, sure he had gotten in a fight with Hawke after Fenris had slept with him, but what if there was a different reason behind it. What if all Nero was doing was behaving like a friend would? It wasn't like Fenris knew any better, when had he ever had friends before? He had probably been born a slave, and if a slave knows whats good for him, he wont allow himself to get attached to other slaves. A masters wrath can be unpredictable, and if ones master found out about such a relationship there was no doubt that the knowledge would be used in the worst of ways.

"Venhedis," he muttered angrily. He slid his head lower and grabbed his hair with his fingers. Why am I even thinking about this? he wondered, it would not take a fool to realize that there are far more important matters on his mind. If only he would speak.

He wanted to go talk to Nero, but he was still so unsure about what to say. And he had no real reason to believe that Nero would respond anyway. The man hadn't said anything since he had spoken earlier that day, and had shown no sign of wishing to say anything more. If only he had a gift with words like Varric did, or was brash and open like Isabela. But then again, no one else had been able to get through to Nero either, so at least there was that.

He wished that they had found a clue as to who ordered Nero's capture. When Hawke had returned to the place they had found the beaten man, he came up empty handed. Varric paid to have some 'discreet' people watch the place 24/7 hoping that whoever it was would show up, if nothing else they were hoping a Templar would return to the place to retrieve the tranquility brand. So far, however, there was nothing. And Fenris was beginning to wonder how long Varric intended to keep paying people for something that may be nothing more than a waste of time.

Fenris sighed in frustration and rose from the table to head to the wine cellar for a bottle of something that may clear his head. Assuming anything was even left, anyway. He hadn't taken it upon himself to bother hunting for wine while Nero was gone. At first it was because he didn't want them to find him drunk if they had found Nero, and then it was because he spent most of his time at the clinic. Now though, it was it was high-time that he had a drink.

On his way there, however, he came across Nero exiting his room. Nero stopped closing the door when he noticed Fenris, instead offering him a small smile.

"I think, um...would you like to come in?" He asked awkwardly, motioning towards his room.

Fenris nodded and followed him inside, sitting on the bed when Nero motioned for him to do so. Nero grabbed a bottle of wine that he had left on the table and, opening it, he sat beside Fenris and took a drink before handing it to the elf.

"I am sorry that I've...not been talking much. I'm sure that it has been frustrating to the others, as well as to you." Nero said to his hands.

Fenris shook his head, "I understand. Sometimes, it is easier not to speak after such things."

"Yes, but I cannot be silent forever. If you have questions I will answer them as well as I can." His face remained stoic but inside Nero was screaming with nerves. He did not wish to discuss what happened, in fact his memories were so confusing that he knew he had little to offer. But...Fenris had been diligent...and had been a comfort while he was recovering, and Nero knew that he owed the man something.

Fenris was silent for a moment, but then he shook his head again, "the only thing I would wish to know is if you had any idea who ordered your capture. However, I like to think that you would have shared that information by now if you had it."

Nero smiled at him wryly, "indeed."

Silence descended upon them and they quietly drank through most of the bottle before Nero spoke again. He laid back on the bed, the bath having helped ease some of the stiffness from his scars, and watched as Fenris turned around to face him, crossing his legs in front of himself.

"I am sorry, I find myself at a loss for words." Nero said.

Fenris chuckled, "you only find yourself in my position when you're around." he froze as he realized what he had said and searched Nero's face for a reaction.

At first Nero was surprised and his face blank, but then his features eased into a small smile and he rose into a sitting position. Noting the elf's stiff countenance he placed a reassuring hand atop one of Fenris'. Fenris looked down to where their hands were touching in his lap and allowed himself to smile at the sight and the comfort it gave him before raising his gaze to meet Nero's.

"This may not be an appropriate time." Fenris began, "but I never had the chance to tell you that I...I think I missed you, as well."

"Oh, thank the maker." Nero said quickly before he so much as jumped on Fenris.

Fenris quickly found himself laying on his back with Nero on top of him. Nero seemed rushed and Fenris quickly matched his pace, his senses tingling and a cloud of warm comfort enveloping his chest and spine. Nero had one hand in Fenris' hair and the other on his chest as their tongues danced and Fenris wrapped his arms around Nero and pulled him closer. Nero's hand pulled at the elf's shirt, pulling it up as much as he could with his legs on either side of it. He took advantage of the small area of skin he exposed around Fenris' navel and slid a hand over it, noticing that he could feel where the lines of lyrium were. He ignored them as he continued his assault on Fenris' mouth, his excitement growing by the second.

Gasping, Nero pulled away suddenly and stared at Fenris' confused expression. He let out a short, breathy laugh, "I'm so sorry, Fenris. I do not mean to be rushed, you deserve better than this, I just...I don't think I can slow down." he made to get up and off of the elf, but Fenris held him still.

Fenris smirked, "I'll take it as a compliment that you cannot control yourself, then." Nero laughed louder this time, "but for the sake of my sanity, do not stop."

"But-"

"I refuse to let you go this time."

Nero smiled and brought his lips to Fenris' again. He tried to keep it together, but was failing miserably again and it wasn't long before he had them both shirtless and was kissing a trail along his jaw to the tips of the elfs ear, where he nibbled gently, eliciting a low moan from the man under him. Fenris' hands were grasping Nero's back end and when Nero shuffled a bit back to kiss along Fenris' collarbone his nails scratched against Nero's scars and he let out a low hiss, to which Fenris froze.

"It's alright, they just cause me some...discomfort." Nero said, his lips moving against Fenris' neck.

Fenris gave a small nod, "I understand."

Nero traced one of Fenris' markings with his tongue before saying, "I've no doubt that you do."

Fenris was spared from having to respond when Nero found his nipples and gently squeezed them. He groaned loudly and bucked his hips, stopping his fingers from digging into the other man's back even though they so desperately needed to. So absorbed by the sensation as he was, Fenris did not notice that while Nero was playing with his nipples he was also untying his trousers. He only realized when Nero pulled away and cold air breezed against his now exposed cock.

With a small sultry smile Nero forced Fenris' legs open and sat between them, reaching under the elf to pull his leggings off. Then he knelt on all fours and leaned forward so that he was pressing their foreheads together.

"If you want this to stop you need to tell me now so I can go masturbate fiercely somewhere." he said with a shaky breath

Fenris smirked, "do I get to watch?"

"ho-oh, what is this? I was always under the impression you were a fairly reserved sort of fellow."

Fenris chuckled, "with most people I am, this is..different." Fenris leaned forward to share a long passionate kiss with Nero before speaking again, "do you always talk so much? I do not wish to stop."

Nero smiled, "not always, this is different."

Fenris rose his hips to poke Nero in the stomach with his cock in an attempt to urge him onwards, when Nero continued to smile at him he sighed in mock frustration and reached forward to untie the other man's pants.

"Didn't you say you were having a hard time controlling yourself, should I be offended now?" He teased.

Nero chuckled and sat back on the bed to pull his pants off, shivering at the chill in the room. Fenris made to turn around, as he was accustomed to being taken from behind, but Nero stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down on the mattress.

"I'm only being difficult now because your so damned adorable when your sexually frustrated." Nero spit in his hand and slicked it over Fenris' cock, stroking it gently to cover it with his saliva. Fenris gasped and groaned loudly, bucking into Nero's hands. Raising himself to his knees, he spit in his hand again and leaned over the elf, to kiss him sensually while he reach behind himself and made quick work of preparing his entrance for what promised to be a pleasantly thick intrusion.

Fenris reach a hand up and wrapped it around the back of Nero's neck to deepen the kiss. Things were not proceeding as he had anticipated and he was far too excited and terrified to question what Nero was doing. He was excited for what appeared to be coming, and terrified that if he asked about it that Nero would stop. He forced the questions from his mind, Nero knew what he was doing, it was in Fenris' best interests to trust the other man's instincts.

The kiss ended abruptly and Fenris soon found himself being straddled, Nero's face was flush with excitement and Fenris saw a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. He absentmindedly reached up to wipe it away and Nero smiled at him before repositioning himself and gentling grabbing Fenris's erection.

He couldn't stop himself and spoke in confusion, "are you really-malum! factorem scriptor spiritus! Ignaro proditum." he moaned [Fuck! maker's breath! Shit.]

Nero was wincing however, and pushing himself onto Fenris slowly, so he did not reply. It had been more than five years since he had been with a man and he had only done a half-assed job of preparing himself in his excitement. Luckily his saliva was somehow providing enough lubrication, but that did not stop the sharpness he was feeling from the stretching.

Finally he was completely encasing Fenris and he allowed himself to loosen his tense shoulders and let go of the shaky breath he had been holding in. His eyes, however, were still squeezed closed and he only opened them when he felt Fenris' hand on his face, evidently he was wiping away a tear that Nero had not noticed he let loose.

"Nero," Fenris began gently, "Sunt vobis bene? Quid te facere?" [Are you okay? Why did you do that?]

Nero gave him a small lopsided smile, "essem fortasse parum avidi. Lustus dare mi momento." [I was perhaps a little too eager. Just give me a moment]

Fenris nodded despite all of his instincts to fuck the man into oblivion. He lay in tortured silence and watched Nero's face slowly relax. He was almost undone every time Nero took a deep breath and the pressure increased where they were connected, but he persisted. The elf was soon rewarded when Nero slowly opened his eyes again and placing his hands on either side of Fenris' head, he rose slowly, eliciting a groan out of them both, and gently lowered himself again.

At first Nero's movements were slow as his body adjusted to the foreign feeling, the pace quickened however, when the pleasure increased. He smiled a little at the slightly shocked expression still marring Fenris' face and continued his movement, he reached down and teased one of Fenri's nipples, causing him to groan loudly, and the hold on his hips tightened. When Nero's fingers traveled to the neglected nipple Fenris arched his back and Nero took the opportunity to lean down and began suckling on his neck, causing Fenris to begin panting heavily.

Nero could sense that Fenris wasn't going to last a whole lot longer and he sat up straighter and adjusted the angle of his hips, just so. He nearly hollered out when Fenris began to hit that particular spot and he gasped loudly when Fenris wrapped a hand around his erection, stroking it softly but at the same pace as his thrusts.

Nero didn't last long after that, eventually shooting out all over Fenris' stomach and chest. The elf joined him soon after and Nero tiredly rolled off of him and his feet hit the floor. He stood and looked about for a moment, not seeing Fenris' confused expression, then he threw up his hands in disgust and opened an armoir, grabbing a couple of undershirts and bringing them to the bed with him. He lay between the wall and Fenris, and after cleaning himself off he used the other shirt to wipe off Fenris' chest.

With a relaxed sigh he reached over Fenris to drop the shirts to the floor. He kept one arm slung over Fenris' stomach and his cheek resting on the cleanest part of Fenris' chest and resigned himself to catching his breath.

Fenris suddenly felt awkward, unaccustomed to cuddling as he was. Furrowing his brow he tried to figure out what to do with his hands, he settled on resting one on the arm slung across his stomach and rested the other one behind his head.

"Well this was most unexpected." he laughed nervously.

Nero chuckled, "was it really? I suppose...I just needed to finish what we had started before, is all."

Fenris frowned, "so...is this it, then?"

Nero's head snapped up, concern on his face, "What? No, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, well, I would like to continue, if you so wish?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah well," Nero blushed, and chastised himself for doing so. What was he, some virgin maiden? Hardly. "I ..I would like for you to stay, tonight at least, preferably more. If that is what you wish, also. If not I can leave...or rather...I can move so you can get up. And we can act like this never happened. But I would really rather not. I would like to have another go, I didn't last very long this time, and I would love to please you in so many other ways. I just, it's been so many years and I had to...good lord." He hid his face in Fenris' chest, "I sound like an idiot."

Fenris chuckled, "perhaps." He said nothing more for a few moments before allowing a sly grin to grace his lips, "what are these other ways then? I must say I am curious now."

Nero laughed and repositioned himself so that he was pressed against Fenris' side. Fenris was surprised to find that the other man was already on his way to being ready to go again. He also found a blush creeping up his neck at the things Nero was whispering into his ear, of things to come.

He coughed, "sarai la mia morte, Nero." [you will be the death of me, Nero]


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this may be a terribly boring chapter, it follows pretty closely to Sebastian's second quest, Repentence...and by pretty closely I mean to say that I pretty much followed it to the T. Woops? Also, I have a busy week coming up and wont have time to post. The only reason I'm making time for this chapter is because I wanted to explain myself.
> 
> Oh, also, I was wondering if anybody would like to see the crew do any particular quest or anything else...I'm digging for ideas lol

"This person better be related to Brother Plinth or I'm going to be terribly upset that I just carried a bunch of random shit through the city for nothing." Hawke was saying as he, Nero, Varric, Isabela, and Fenris entered the Chantry.

Hawke, Varric and Isabela had been making their way to the Chantry when they ran into Nero and Fenris, who were on their way to the Hanged Man. It was the first time the two were seen outside together in weeks, usually when Fenris went to play cards with the others Nero refused to join him. Because Fenris was nervous every time he left Nero in the estate by himself, he didn't go out often, and wasn't out for long when he did. Nero had also taken it upon himself to make good of his promise to teach the elf how to read and write, so he had a valid excuse. Nero was shocked by his quick progress however, and theorized that Fenris must have known how to read and write before he received the markings; just another thing Denarius had taken from him. He tried to tell himself he was nervous when he ventured out only because he was worried about the other man's safety...but deep down he knew that he simply enjoyed Nero's company much more than he enjoyed the company of the others. Particularly when we are unclothed...with a shake of his head Fenris brought his attention back to the conversation taking place.

"Well if it does turn out to be a bust I'll be sure to say that you returned them to her secret worried lover and had to battle darkspawn and dragons to get to him...in fact I might just tell it that way anyway. Much more exciting." Varric laughed

"Oh hey, its that prince!" Isabela pointed to the young man speaking with an older woman, "Stephen...Scott...what was it?"

"Sebastian Vael." Hawke laughed.

"Yes that, what do you say, lets go talk to our handsome prince."

"Why not, it's not as though I'm carrying some dead woman's remains or anything." Hawke rolled his eyes as he followed Isabela up the stairs.

"I thought it would end here, Elthina. Young Master Hawke decimated flint company, no survivors. Yet now that I know who sent them its harder to see their deaths as justice" The man, Sebastian, was saying sadly.

"Death is never justice." the old woman stand near him replied with a sad shake of her head as they approached. Nero snorted, tell that to Anders.

"I- Hawke, we were just talking about you" the Prince said when he realized they were there.

"Carry on, I love to eavesdrop."

"Hawke said sarcastically." Varric

"You know, I hate when you do that." Hawke frowned.

"Hawke muttered in an angry aside to the dwarf" Varric continued.

"Uhh-if you have a moment. I've learned who hired Flint Company. The Harimann's, a noble family of Kirkwall. They were my parents' allies, its hard to believe they betrayed us like this." Sebastian interrupted.

"This is why the cycle of violence never gets broken." Hawke chuckled.

"You jest, but that's the truth. Give this up Sebastian, dedicate yourself to the chantry as you swore." Elthina insisted.

"I must speak to Lady Harimann and find out what drove her to this madness" Sebastian said firmly.

"Why is everybody looking at me?" Hawke asked innocently.

"I don't know why Choir Boy here didn't just yell 'Hawke to the rescue!' that's clearly what he was going for." Varric said.

"If this allows Sebastian to make peace, it is worth doing. You've taken on lesser causes" Elthina said curtly.

Sebastian rounded on Hawke and pleaded, "Please, I have no one else to turn to. If you like I can travel with you until you confront Lady Harimann. Otherwise you can always find me here in the Chantry."

Hawke sighed, "why wait? I've got nothing important going on today...I don't think.." he directed his gaze upwards and tapped his chin, "wasn't there a reason I came to the Chantry in the first place?"

"To return Sister Plinths remains." Fenris told him.

"Ah yes, lets do that first, then we'll go."

...

"So, any idea why they turned on you?" Hawke asked as they made their way through Hightown to the Harrimann estate.

"Money, power? Its hard to say. .Lady Harimann was always jealous of my family for being royalty when hers were mere nobility."

Cheap words coming from a prince, Nero thought.

They found themselves in the courtyard outside of Nero and Fenris' estate and Sebastian absentmindedly said, "the courtyards in Starkhaven were much nicer."

"Kirkwall spends it's money on more important things than appearance. In Starkhaven there is also a distinct lack of abominations and demons as well." Fenris said.

"Oh, have you been?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes."

"What-"

"Is this the place, my prince?" Hawke asked, a twinkle in hi eye.

"Aye. You don't have to call me that you know."

"I know, you're not my prince anyway, being that I live in Kirkwall. Of course, you could be my prince, if you like." Hawke smiled and winked at the prince, to which he stared blankly for a moment before catching the meaning , blushing, and moving past him to knock on the door.

"I see you haven't failed to notice how devilishly handsome our charming prince is then either." Isabela mused quietly to Hawke.

Hawke laughed, "how could I not. I swear I didn't mean to flirt with him, I can't control it. Mentally I'm all like 'he's a prince and a chantry brother, hes not going to sleep with you,' but at the same time my crotch is screaming 'he will be ours!'"

"Hmmm, I find myself in a similar situation. Would you like to bet on it then? Whoever sleeps with him first wins." Isabela offered with a wicked grin.

"Good lord, you two are animals." Varric sighed.

"Hush you, or we'll place a bet on who can bed you first." Isabella giggled.

"They aren't answering, but it's unlocked," Sebastian said as he opened the door, "it's strange that there isn't a single guard posted and the door isn't locked. This is not the Lady Harrimann that I remember."

Sensing that the place was not quite right in addition to Sebastian's words, Nero pulled a blade from it's scabbard, just in case. Slowly they made their way through the main room up some stairs. They quickly found themselves in a room with two large wine barrels and a woman speaking to herself.

"More you lazy son of a bitch! Whats taking so long." She was saying.

"Flora?" Sebastian asked.

"Why does no one in this house care what I want? More wine or I swear I will drown someone in the dregs-"

"That sounds familiar " Varric said, "I don't envy anyone in this household tomorrow morning."

Sebastian ignored him, "she doesn't even see us, this is no normal wine."

Nero snorted quietly, as if a chantry brother would know anything about wine.

Shaking his head in confusion, Sebastian lead them deeper into the mansion. In the next room, however, they found a male servant holding a knife to a frightened female servants throat with a man who's clothes marked him as nobility urging the male servant on.

"More logs!" he was saying, "it must be molten! You! more coin. I want every scrap of gold in this house!"

"P-please messere!" the girl with the knife to her throat begged.

The nobleman turned on her, "there is nothing to fear, you'll be beautiful!" he smiled, "pour it over her."

"Don't!" Sebastian interrupted, "you'll kill her!" he frowned, "he can't hear me."

At Sebastian's voice the male servant stopped holding the girl and she ran away as he approached the group, knife still in hand.

"Perhaps I should be the one." the nobleman said

"We must end this madness!" Sebastian snarled before knocking the servant out.

As they left the room the nobleman continued talking to himself, "where did she go? She would have been beautiful."

They climbed a set of stairs and went down a hallway, they found themselves in a bedroom with a half-naked man and a red-haired elf kissing him.

"oh...lower...lower." the man was saying.

"I beg your pardon, Hawke. I did not mean to expose you to such things." Sebastian said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No apology necessary." Hawke smiled.

"No the feather, use the feather. Where have you been all my life? Today I am more than a man! Come! felicitate me."

"Oh, I should write that down and try it sometime, maybe I'll get it embroidered on my shirt." Isabela laughed.

"He has no idea we're here, I've known Ruxton Harimann my whole life, he's a complete prude." Sebastian insisted.

"Now that's the kind of prude I could get behind." Isabela said with a smirk and a wink.

"Wheres your brother? lets ask him to join us..." the man said

"Oh my." Isabela giggled.

Sebastian threw his hands up in disgust and left the room, the others following. They made their way to the basement where they ran into the three Harrimann children. The Harimann's passed out as shades and a desire demon appeared. After they were slain the group made their way downwards into an abandoned ruin to which Sebastian said:

"A ruin? So close to Hightown? I remember no such thing."

"You would be surprised." Nero said darkly.

There wasn't time for more talk however, as they were quickly faced with re-animated corpses, shades and an arcane horror. Afterwards they made their way deeper into the ruin, coming across more corpses and shades and another arcane horror and even a revanant.

Soon enough however, they found themselves in a room with a desire demon standing over an older woman who was kneeling on the ground.

"You must give me more. Starkhaven will not submit. I put that idiot Goran Vael into the prince's seat but the other families wont heed him. I must marry him to Flora and solidify our hold. But I need more power." she said.

"I have given you much, your desires run deep. You've already traded your husband and children. What more can you offer?" The demon asked with her seductive voice.

"At the Blooming Rose fifty silvers is standard for a whore." Hawke quipped

The demon turned towards him, "you'll hardly find my services standard."

At the interruption the woman on the floor stood, "who is this? who are you? Sebastian? How did you get here?"

Sebastian ignored her questions, instead he spat, "you were my mothers friend, how could you murder her?"

"Such an ugly word," The demon said, "I prefer 'removed the only obstacle between her and her dreams'"

Sebastian pointed at the demon, "this was your idea!"

The demon laughed, "I could create such desires if I wished. But it is far easier to nurture those that already exist. The desire for power is easy to find. You and your friend both possess it, do you not? You both wish to rise."

"Not if it meant selling out my family." Hawke snapped

"How loyal are your friends to you?" the demon asked him, "everyone has a price. everyone wants something."

"Do not listen to her." Sebastian told Hawke.

"Oh, such a pious soul, masking so much ambition. Are you so different from my lady? you yearn for the same lands, the same power..."

"I am the rightful heir! She is a usurper and murderer!" Sebastian growled.

"You swore to put aside worldly goods and ambitions, but they couldn't stop you from wanting them." The demon said reasonably.

Hawke scratched his chin with a finger, "you and Lady Harimann are fighting for the same thing, aren't you?" he asked Sebastian

"Regaining my birthright is hardly the same as stealing it from another!"

"But you want it." The demon persisted, "you had resigned yourself to letting your brothers rule and now, that seat glitters before you. You've always wanted it, you needn't deny it any longer. All you have to do is kill anyone in your way."

Sebastian nocked an arrow in his bow, "silence temptress. Your whispers led our allies astray. You are the only one I must kill."

He shot the arrow at her but she moved out of the way at the last moment and several shades materialized around her. Lady Harimann charged a spell and soon had sent Sebastian flying backwards. She had no time to react, however, when mere seconds later a shape collided with her and forced her to the ground where a knife was pushed into her throat. Nero stayed where he was until he was sure she was dead before jumping up and, seeing that Fenris was battling the demon alone and a skeleton was approaching him from behind, he rushed forward and knocked the corpses blade from it's grasp. He grabbed the corpse by the shoulder and broke it's spine with his foot, letting it crumble to the ground.

He turned then and made to run behind the demon for a better attack angle but she reached out and grabbed him by the neck. His blades fell from his hands, though thankfully they dangled off his wrists by the leather loops he had added all those years ago, and he reached up to try and pry the fingers loose.

He hung, choking, for several moments before a blade swung down, severing the demons arm. Her scream was cut short when Fenris' sword cut through her throat, sending her head flying.

With the desire demon dead the rest of the shades and corpses fell quickly, and soon they were all standing around, catching their breath and putting their blades away.

Sebastian stood over Lady Harimann's body sadly for a few minutes, before shaking his head and heading towards the stairs, "let us return to the Chantry, I must pray for her soul."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, ive been super ill as well, and I still have a bit of a cold...but yeah...ima start posting some shenanagins again. dont worry!

They were back at it again, doing another one of Hawke's never-ending jobs. Nero had been on several in the years he had known the man, and he was constantly baffled as to why Hawke kept accepting them. It wasn't as if he did it for the money, he had plenty of that. He must like killing things, he had concluded ages ago.

He was still quiet when he was with his friends, but every time he went out Fenris seemed pleased, so he continued doing it for him. And because he didn't particularly care for his friends knocking on his door every time more than a few days had gone without word from him or Fenris. His friends didn't seem to get the hint that he and Fenris were staying home so often for a reason.

He was thankful at least that Fenris didn't seem to have anymore than a friendly interest in the Prince. The week before they had spent a great deal of time camping out at Sundermount and the wounded coast hunting down apostates that had been inspired to escape the circle by Hawke's own father. Nero had been forced to keep reassuring himself that the Prince wasn't making eyes at Fenris. And he truly hoped that he really was imagining it, he did not wish to be forced to ensure that the Chantry Brother retained his vows of chastity by removing his hands. If it came to that he might just take those bright blue orbs of his as well, ogling was not appreciated.

Fenris continued to have philosophical discussions with the prince however, and he got very into the conversations, so Nero resigned himself to ignore the blossoming friendship, instead urging Isabela and Hawke to continue their bet on who would bed the man first. Isabela was quickly getting frustrated though, Sebastian seemed little more than uncomfortable by her flirtations, but he blushed and stuttered at Hawke's. Which only cemented Nero's wariness around him. Clearly the man was pitching for the same field.

He sighed and stepped around a little elf girl as they entered the Alienage. The prince was not with them today, thank the maker, instead it was just Hawke, Anders, Merril, Isabela, Fenris and him going to answer the call of someone Hawke had apparently helped out years ago. The irony was not lost Nero that just last week they were hunting apostates and this week they were going to the aid of another apostate. Hawke's decisions were always so confusing.

When Hawke motioned for them to wait while he spoke to Arianni, the apostates mother and the one that had requested his help, they found themselves lounging around the giant tree.

Fenris, having grown frustrated, turned to Isabela, saying "you keep staring at me. Is it my eyes again?"

Isabela smirked, "you're very lanky, for an elf. I like lanky."

Nero frowned from where he sat a few feet away from them, something has to be done about my possessiveness, this is ridiculous. He pushed down the rising irritation and tried to remember that this was just Isabela, she tried to sleep with everything.

"From what I gather, you like a lot of things." was all Fenris said in response.

"Nonsense. But when I see something I like, I go after it." Isabela winked.

"I suggest keeping your distance."

"Now you're just making it challenging." Isabela laughed.

Fenris sighed tiredly, "do you intend to go after me, then?"

"Will you take off all that spiky armor you're wearing?" she asked seductively.

Fenris shrugged his shoulders, "It's been known to happen for some."

"Then forget it." she smirked

"Not a problem."

"Ouch"

"Well," Hawke said when he approached them, "looks like we're going to be waiting for Marethari." he explained the situation with the apostate, Feynriel, and Nero sighed and rested his head on his knees, intending to take a nap. Merrill, however, had different plans.

"I'm sorry." said the quiet voice from where she kneeled beside him.

"What?" he snapped his head up to look at her, surprised.

"About your capture...I never got to send you my sympathies." she explained.

Nero groaned and buried his face in his lap, "go away."

"If you needed someone to talk to about it, I'm here for you." she offered.

Andraste, help me, he thought but, didn't reply.

She took his silence as an invitation to stay and plopped herself down in the dirt beside him, "I could talk about nothing too, you know. You're just so quiet these days, you used to smile and talk a lot more. I don't like seeing you so unhappy."

"I am not unhappy, I am just...not in the mood."

"The alienage is cheery, most of the time, when there aren't muggings going on. There is almost always a litter of kittens running about. Not right now though, so that doesn't help. You should come here more often, I don't think you've ever even come here before. It's not as bad as it looks, you know." Merrill said cheerily.

"Why would I come here?"

Merrill frowned, "well, you could help out around here or something. It would keep you busy. There are always tiny repairs needed. I've been trying to get my roof to stop leaking for years." When he said nothing she continue, "don't you care about the plight of our people? not even a little bit?"

"Merrill," Nero tried to force himself to say kindly, "there is no 'our' people. I'm not even a 'people'. I'm...it doesn't matter what I am. I am far to preoccupied with keeping my own freedom to give a quarter of a shit about yours or your peoples."

Merrill gaped at him for several moments before furrowing her brow and asking, "did you sit on something sharp?

Nero raised an eyebrow in question, "no."

"Slam your fingers in a door?"

"No."

"Step on a nail?

"No."

"Smack your head on a low beam?"

"What are you getting at, Merrill?" Nero demanded angrily.

"I'm just wondering why you're so cross."

Isabela laughed from where she was standing a few feet away, "I think he jabs himself with Fenris' spikes, personally."

Merrill tilted her head, and pondered over this for a moment. "Why would he do that? That can't feel very nice."

"Well my dear Merrill, Fenris says that he takes his armor off for some, but If I know Nero, and I think I do, he wouldn't want our broody elf armor-free. Not all the time anyway." She smirked.

"I don't understand, why would Fenris be taking off his armor for Nero? Am I missing something, it's something dirty isn't it? Tell me, please! I hate it when I miss these things."

"Good lord!" Anders laughed, Nero simply groaned.

...

They were all ready to enter the fade, and lay in different spots around Arianni's living room. All except Merrill, whom Hawke had sent home, explaining that he wasn't comfortable bringing her to the fade due to her past with making deals with demons. She pouted, and argued, and eventually left in a huff, angry that she wasn't trusted.

"How can she be so surprised?" Anders had asked no one in particular, "Shes a few bricks short of a wall, isn't she?"

They all had a horrible smelling dab of some plant paste on their foreheads and the Keeper Marethari stood over them reciting some old chant that she said would take them all to where Feynriel was stuck in the fade. Nero's eyes were closed, and he didn't open them till he heard Marethari speak.

"Hmmm, how peculiar. Anyway, they should be looking for your son now, child. Now we wait."

Nero sat up and looked at her confusedly, "wait...what? You're done? Why am I still here?"

Marethari gave him a knowing look, "I thought I only felt four souls enter the fade. Arianni, would you be so kind as to make some tea? I think the lad and I having something private to discuss."

Arianna bowed, "of course, Keeper."

"Thank you," Marethari sat down at the table in the room and motioned for Nero to sit in the chair opposite her. Confused he did so. "I wonder, child, just how it is that you come to be sitting here, wile the others traverse the fade."

Nero rolled his eyes, "I was kind of hoping you might have an answer to that, as I surely don't." realizing he still had the paste on his forehead he wiped it off on his sleeve.

"Here you are, Keeper."

"Ma 'Serannas, Arianni." Marethari poured herself a cup of tea and offered some to Nero, but he declined, "as you wish child. Now, I wonder. I sense something odd about you. As a keeper I have a closer connection to the river of eternity than most, if not all, others. Excluding yourself of course."

"I'm sorry," Nero interrupted, "river of eternity?"

Marethari nodded slowly, "of course. It is all around us, even so, not much is known about it. It flows through everyone and everything. But compared to you that connection is weak. It is almost as thought you are a shell, enclosing a disturbing amount of the river."

"Ah, yes, that." Nero said, then he regaled her with a short, clipped version of how he was made. Curious to see if she knew anything more about it.

"Esperance did you say?" Marethari asked, "hmm, the world truly is small. If this is the same woman that I think it is, then you speak of Merrill's aunt. Her mother's sister."

Nero gaped, before scowling. "that explains the resemblance."

"Yes. Back to the matter at hand. I do not believe that you could enter the fade because, similarly to dwarves, and unlike elves and humans, you do not truly have any attachment to it."

"Dawrves can't be sent to the fade through a spell like this one, then?" Nero asked.

"They can. You however are too much of the opposite of the fade. The river of eternity is composed of souls, so to speak, the essence of every living thing in this world. Humans, elves, and dawrves are composed of a small portion of this essence, a single recycled soul, and a larger portion of the fade, in addition to other things that are not truly understood at this time."

"Interesting. So, does that mean I cannot be attacked by demons?"

"Not mentally, no. If a demon takes a physical form you are just as susceptible as others, I would imagine."

"I...see."

"I am sure that you do not, but you understand a little more I think." She tilted her head to the side as if she heard something he didn't. "somebody is returning."

Not long afterword Anders' eyes flew open and he lay on the floor panting heavily for several minutes before he sat up and, slamming one fist into the floor, he yelled "That bastard! He could have fucking killed me!"

Nero kneeled in front of him, "Anders?"

"Nero" Anders asked him confusedly, "where were you, why are you here?"

"Later. Who tried to kill you?"

Rage contorted Anders features "Hawke! That prick made a deal with a fucking demon and when Justice tried to get him to stop he fucking killed me..Justice...us, in the fade. Fuck!"

Nero furrowed his brow in confusion, "where is Justice now, is he dead?"

"No, he's just very weak from the fight, he sort of, took over, in the fade. I can't believe Hawke tried to fucking kill me. How the hell could he make a deal with a demon, how can he not fucking know better? What the fuck!"

Angrily Anders stood and began pacing the small house, Nero's thoughts began to wander and with a glance at Fenris's prone form he interrupted Anders' angry tirade.

"Anders, I need to know, did Fenris fight with Justice or-"

"Does this mean I'm not getting my ship? Bugger it all." Isabela suddenly said.

"Isabela?" Anders said, surprised, before narrowing his eyes and spitting out, "did he turn on you too? What the fuck is wrong with that bastard?"

"Whats that?" Isabela asked, before laughing, "oh no, I was going to get a ship, a beautiful vessel, I could see it, I-"

"Wait, you made a deal with a demon too?" Anders threw his hands up in frustration.

"It was a ship!" Isabela sighed, "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

"I resent that." Nero scowled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Nero? what happened to you, where were you?" Isabela asked as she stood and stretched.

Nero pointed to Marethari with his thumb, "ask her."

A sharp, "Venhedis!" sounded from the corner, where Fenris had been laying in a chair.

Nero raised his eyebrows at him but before he could speak Anders laughed,

"Really? You too?" Anders snorted, "that's perfect. Hypocrisy looks good on you."

Fenris stood with a growl but would not look Anders in the face, "quiet, mage." was his only reply before he swore again and said he needed some air.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - another M/M scene, also, there are earrings mentioned, they are similar to the earrings the Arishok wears, in case you wish to get a better idea
> 
> Link - dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Arishok
> 
> Also i scrapped together what Nero's outfit is supposed to look like, more or less. The colors are a bit wrong, the red should be green and whatnot, but this is mostly what it looks like. Link - http:/elizabethbeed.deviantart.com/art/Le-Exio-without-a-cape-O-290503123
> 
> just lick on the images for a larger view
> 
> enjoy!

Nero exited the hovel to find Fenris pacing, an angry expression on his face. The elf did not look up, even when Nero let the door close noisily behind him. Nero watched sadly for a few moments, waiting to see if Fenris would look at him before he said anything.

When Fenris only seemed to get more irritated he stepped forward, "Fenris-"

"That a demon could have played so easily on my fears...disturbs me. I failed myself, I feel as thought I failed you. I won't let that happen again." He interrupted.

"It wasn't your fault." Nero shook his head, "I hear demons are ridiculously persuasive...dare I ask what happened?"

"The demon promised me the strength and power to best any Tevinter mage that came after me. I was a fool, I should have better prepared myself. I should have known that the demons would see my fears, and my desires, and try to use them against me. I should have-"

Nero cut him off, "I think we may be here for years if you continue down that road. Maybe you should have, but you didn't. If there is a next time you will be more wary."

Fenris leaned against the wall of the hovel next to Nero and stared sadly at his feet, "I cannot forgive myself so easily. The abomination was right, I am a hypocrite. How can I hold it against him for allowing himself to become possessed when I fell so easily." He snorted angrily, "he even held the demons at bay for years before falling victim. Just one offer and I was gone. I am pathetic."

Nero sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, what do I say? He settled on humor, maybe he would offer more comforting words when they may have an impact. "Maker's breath, Fenris. It's almost starting to sound like you might not despise Anders so much anymore."

Fenris chuckled, "hardly. He is an abomination and has been for years, he knows the danger he poses. If he was an honorable human he would have turned himself in long ago."

"Nero! Fenris!" Merrill waved frantically from where she was locking her door behind her, "Was it successful? What happened? Where is everyone else?"

Nero sighed loudly and motioned inside.

"Um, thanks," She said, before heading indoors.

A few minutes later Anders emerged from the hovel, "he's back now, he says that he killed the demon in the end. That he simply used it." he snorted.

"I take it you do not believe him." Fenris stated.

Anders rolled his eyes in disgust, "do you?"

...

It was later that afternoon, and everyone had gone to their respective homes with plans of meeting up at the hanged man later that night for the weekly game of wicked grace. Fenris had been silent the entire walk home and it wasn't long after Nero closed the mansion door behind them that he found himself being pressed into the wall, Fenris already working at the ties to his armor and clothing.

Although he was slightly confused as to the suddenness of the attack, having expected there to be much talking about the fade before anything of this sort took place again that day, he kissed back, meeting Fenris' ferocity with his own. Nero tasted blood when he bit Fenris' lip a bit too hard and Fenris growled and pressed harder, causing the other man to gasp in pain where Fenri's erection pressed into his hip.

Fenris only broke their heated kiss when it was necessary to pull a piece of armor away and it wasn't long before they were both panting heavily and their armor was spread around them. Fenris quickly removed Nero's tunic and attacked his neck and chest, turning the man into jelly in his arms. This was one of the few times that Fenris had taken initiative, and control, since they had gotten together, and Nero moaned loudly, burning with need for the other man. He absentmindedly began stroking the elf through his trousers, and Fenris bit down on his neck hard, causing Nero to gasp in a blend of pleasure and pain, but he took the meaning behind it and pulled his hand away.

As soon as Nero's hands were off of him Fenris reach down with his own and, grabbing the man by the backs of the knees, he lifted him and pushed him into the wall, sucking hard on one of his nipples and digging his fingers into the back of his thighs. Nero, gasping, grabbed the back of Fenris head by his hair and, not too roughly, pulled the elf's face from his chest and bent his head so he could kiss him just as roughly as before.

Over the past weeks they had explored each other rather thoroughly and now they both knew where to press, kiss, or scratch to drive the other insane. The first couple of weeks it had been Nero initiating their intimate encounters, since Fenris appeared too unsure of himself at first to do so. It was the first time in his life that Nero found his training causing the other person to be nervous as opposed to just assuming that they could do what they wish since he was probably used to it. He appreciated it and found it cute, but he did not complain the first time Fenris had taken the lead, Nero had done quite the opposite in fact. For all Fenris' apprehension he was very good at what he did, when Nero had informed him of his skill Fenris had scoffed and said he merely followed Nero's example. Nero had been unable to convince him that this was not a bad thing, it was a good sign when someone was willing to learn.

Nero's thoughts were dragged away when Fenris bit his shoulder. He hissed, but Fenris knew not to stop, despite the horny, disappointed frown the other man would wear if he did so. The elf wouldn't admit it, but he found that expression adorable and there had been many times in the last couple of weeks that he had feigned concern just to see it.

It was not, however, his favorite expression Nero wore while they were intimate. He saw it when they went slowly, and weren't so rough, and they took time to explore, and re-discover places they had found before. Generally Nero took the lead on these occasions, Fenris had tried, but he found that he still wasn't comfortable taking the lead when they were making love, he was more familiar with fucking, after all. He had tried many times, but failed them all so far, but he swore to himself that he would succeed one of these times. Maybe then Nero would see the same look of adoration that Fenris saw.

His thoughts were elsewhere at the moment, however, mostly on the fact that Nero was still wearing pants, and he wished that he was not. He let go of Nero's legs and when his feet were on the floor again Fenris made to untie his pants, but the throat under his lips rumbled as Nero laughed and gently pushed him away. Fenris frowned and furrowed his brow, to which Nero just laughed some more.

"I appreciate the thought, Fenris, but I do not particularly feel like fucking in the entry-room."

"But-"

"Fenris."

Fenris sighed dramatically, but led the way to Nero's room anyway. His thoughts were far too preoccupied with what he planned on doing to notice the awkward shuffling behind him, and it wasn't until he turned around when he reached Nero's room that he realized the other man was completely naked.

"bese formosus" He said quietly. [you are handsome.]

"Grazie." Nero smiled, softly. [thank you]

Nero quietly approached Fenris and removed his clothes as well. As soon as the elf was naked too the romantic moment was gone. Fenris had Nero pushed into the mattress and was sucking harshly on his neck and groaning while Nero ground their erections together. Fenris scratched a trail from Nero's neck down to his navel, causing him to shiver, and forced his tongue into the other man's mouth. Nero groaned at the intrusion, reminding him of things to come and grew harder.

He grasped harshly at the elf's hips and dug his nails in, leaving deep indents and small bruises. Fenris growled and lowered his lips to Nero's ear, "I want you to take me." he said.

But Fenris did not get the reaction he was looking for. Instead, Nero froze and pulled away as well as he could, considering he was the one being pressed into the bed. He gaped at the confused elf on top of him, surprise plain on his features.

"What?" was all he said.

Fenris furrowed his brow, "I want you to take me." he repeated.

"But, what? Why?" Nero frowned slightly.

Fenris frowned, "all of this time has passed, and you have not. You have given yourself to me, and I have taken you. Which is wonderful, don't get me wrong, you are the first, in that regard." he offered a small smile before his frown returned, "I just figured...that it was time, is all."

Nero watched him for several minutes, his purple eyes searching Fenris' green ones for the truth behind his words. There was a reason he had not taken the elf yet, nor had he asked to. He had also been a slave, and he had also suffered at the hand of Denarius. Nero knew without a doubt that Fenris had never offered himself to anyone, at least, not that he would have remembered. He wanted Fenris to offer it because that's what he wanted. A part of him desperately wanted to take the elf, he ached for it sometimes. But he had patience and he would wait until that was what Fenris truly wanted, and that time was not now.

"No." was all Nero said.

Fenris stiffened and his frown deepened, "why?"

"This is about earlier isn't it?" Nero said, "you are still beating yourself up about the fade, and you want to be punished."

Fenris sat up and shook his head, but would not look Nero in the face, "no. No, this is what I wish."

Nero sat up as well and grabbed the elf by the chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. "I will not punish you, not for that, and not like this. You should know better than to ask me to."

Fenris lowered his gaze, but nodded.

Nero nodded as well and let his gaze fall to where Fenris' erection was still hard and resting on his thigh. Nero smirked, "moving past that...I'll scratch your itch if you scratch mine."

...

"Is there something you want, Anders?" Fenris asked from where he was seated between Nero and Sebastian.

The game of cards was less than interesting this time around. Nero had given up, again, Sebastian wouldn't bet, Anders' demon wouldn't let him play and Hawke hadn't showed. Fenris was stuck playing with Varric and a very drunk Isabela, who wasn't paying much attention.

"Did you ever think about killing yourself?" Anders asked the elf.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm serious. To get out of slavery, to escape Danarius... don't tell me you never thought about it." Anders persisted

"I did not. To kill oneself is a sin in the eyes of the Maker." Fenris explained. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sebastian positively beaming, he did not, however, see Nero roll his eyes.

Evidently Anders thought similarly to Nero and barked a laugh "you... believe that?

"I try to. Some things must be worse than slavery." Fenris said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Some things are worse than death." Anders said.

Fenris sighed, "Why are you even here?"

"Oh, yes," Anders began searching through his pockets, "Varric and I got together and bought Nero a gift."

Nero perked up, "oh?"

Varric chuckled, "I noticed you keep your hood up more often than you used to, and when its down you tend to check your hair a lot, to make sure it's covering your ears."

"So we bought you these" Anders said, handing a small box to Nero.

Nero raised an eyebrow and opened it to find two silver earrings. Rather, two rounded pieces of metal that were obviously meant to wrap around the cuffs of his now human-shaped ears. Near the bottom part were a few small hoops, just small enough and far apart enough not to clank together.

"Uhm, thank you." Nero said, he was flattered, but uncomfortable with the idea of receiving a gift, having never really received one before.

"Of course," Anders smiled, "we can put them on you right now and I'll heal you ears afterwords."

"Humph," Isabela frowned, "where were you when I got my piercings? They were a bitch to heal afterwards you know."

Varric laughed, "then why would you keep getting them?"

"They're addicting!"

"The maker says one should always fight addictions, for they will be your ruin." Sebastian said.

"The maker can stuff it." Isabela giggled, "put them on the man, would you Anders..ooh their so shiny."

"You're like a crow." Fenris told her.

"You're like...fuck you, Fenris."

Fenris chuckled and Anders rose form his seat to attach the cuffs to Nero's ears. When he was done he sat down and inspected his word, pleased with the results, even though he could hardly see the earrings through the man's hair.

"You didn't even flinch, Nero. If I ever want another piercing I'm going straight to you, Anders." she giggled, nudging the mage in the shoulder.

"Why do I feel like that's an innuendo that I don't quite understand." he wondered.

"It probably is." Varric said.

"Is not." Isabela slurred, "Hey! Those bring out Nero's hickies and bite-marks quite well, don't they?"

"Thanks for the gift, Anders, Varric. I think I'm going to go home now." Nero stood, a blush reddening his cheeks.

When Fenris stood to follow, Isabela added "the right side of his neck has a bare spot, Fenris. I suggest focusing there tonight!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Why does that name ring a bell?" Nero asked.

"Ser Alrik? Have you been hanging out in the gallows, or talking to circle mages lately?" Anders asked with distaste.

"No, he just sounds...familiar...and not in a pleasant way. I've been trying to recall where I heard it before all day."

When Anders had approached him that morning and told him of some 'tranquil solution' he believed the templars were trying to put into effect Nero had initially been skeptical. But then Anders had told him that it was the work of a templar named Ser Alrik, that the man was a nasty piece of work and liked to make mages beg, and it struck a fairly painful cord. He was curious, and felt he had to see this templar, and hoped it would shed some light on his confusion.

It didn't help that Anders claimed that Nero was the only person he could trust with it and had said please and everything. So now Nero, Isabela, Aveline and Fenris were making their way from Anders' clinic to the secret entrance beneath the gallows. Isabela had been seeing Anders about a ...private medical problem, with Aveline along for some baffling reason and had demanded to know what Nero and Fenris were there for. When Isabela had found out she had decided she was coming along, as did the guard captain. Fenris was there, well, because that was what Fenris did.

"You trust the abomination too much, I do not wish to see you destroyed because you placed your safety in his hands. I am coming and that is final." Was all Fenris would say on the matter.

They had just descended the ladder into the tunnels when Anders put a hand on Nero's arm to stop him from proceeding. Isabela, Aveline and Fenris waited a few feet away, once they realized that the two men had stopped to talk, and Aveline took the opportunity to probe Fenris about something that had been bothering her.

"Are you safe, Fenris?" she asked.

Fenris scowled, "no. I appear to be a rather highly regarded magister's lost property, in case you have forgotten."

Aveline sighed, "you know, some guards give people the opportunity to lie if it will keep the peace."

"You can see what I am. Lie to yourself if you must."

"To the void with it then, I'm just going to come out and say it. Fenris, you need to present yourself better." Aveline said, a hint of reason ringing in her voice.

"Pardon?"

"You stick out like a sore thumb in Hightown. Nero may have made an effort to blend in, but you have not, you are drawing unnecessary attention to yourself." she explained, "we do not know who had taken Nero yet, but you are not helping matters by drawing attention to both of your presences."

Fenris frowned and looked away thoughtfully.

"I'm just saying, you should be more discreet about yourself." Aveline continued

Fenris frowned, "I shall...endeavor to exist with less offense."

"Oh, you're not going to like that, Fenris, my dear." Isabela muttered from where she was straining to eavesdrop on Nero and Anders.

Fenris scowled again and turned his attention to the conversation that the two men were having.

"I know it isn't my place to criticize, but...are you sure about Fenris? He seems less a man to me than a wild dog." Anders tried to say quietly.

Nero laughed "are you serious? Are you implying I'm sleeping with a dog?" when he realized that the mage was not jesting, he sighed "you just don't know him, Anders."

"I know as much as I'm ever likely to." He said crossly, folding his arms.

Taking it upon himself to intervene, Fenris stepped up to stand beside Nero and said threateningly "that's right, mage."

Anders scoffed at the elf, but otherwise ignored him, "he has let one bad experience color his whole world. Surely you would want someone more open-minded?"

Nero, shocked by Anders' naive statement, simply gaped at him.

Fenris, was unsurprised however, and instead he rolled his eyes, "a mage and a hypocrite. What company you keep." he said sourly.

Anders sighed angrily and strode away to join the women. With some urging on Anders' part Isabela and Aveline finally turned around and began heading deeper into the tunnel with the mage while Nero continued to gape where he stood.

He began to follow Fenris when the elf trailed after the others and after a few moments he shook his head in disbelief.

"I think..no. That's crazy. What the void.."

"What are you muttering about?" Fenris asked.

"...did Anders just come on to me? Is that what that was? I'm terribly disturbed. I think I need to clean my ears...with acid."

"If he was I will personally rip his heart out." the elf growled.

"You could always rub it in his face that you see me naked quite frequently, and he does not." Nero teased.

"I would rather not share such personal matters with the abomination."

"You're starting to make me feel voyeuristic. Stop it."

"A little help, guys!" they heard Isabela shout from around the corner.

Drawing their weapons they quickly joined the others, finding them knee deep in men trying to kill them. A warrior was advancing on Anders and despite his irritation with the mage, Nero jumped behind him and sunk a blade between the warrior's ribs before advancing on an archer and slitting his throat. He twirled to face another attacker he had seen out of the corner of his eye to find that Fenris had his hand in the man's chest.

Seeing a rogue a few feet away pull a flask from his belt he rushed over and tackled the man to the ground. Jumping to his feet he kicked the dagger from the man's hand and plunged his own blade into the man's face. Nero stumbled forward as someone fell into him and he turned around, to find a man smacking Isabela with his shield. He dodged around the two and plunged his blade into the man's back, piercing his lungs. With a gurgle the man fell.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man approach from the direction they had come from and he grabbed the knife in his belt and tossed it, it landed in the mans throat and he fell back, scrambling to pull it out, only to choke on blood when he did so. Nero turned to kill someone else only to find that there was no one there and the fight was over.

"Lyrium smugglers built these tunnels, to service the templars that crave the stuff." Anders explained

"You don't think you could have mentioned that we might meet more than templar resistance before we came down here?" Nero asked.

Anders shrugged, "I just assumed you knew?"

"Ugh, your such a tit." Aveline grumbled.

They continued on in silence, meeting, and destroying, a few more groups of smugglers along the way. When they finally found the templar he was threatening an escaped circle mage, flanked by a small entourage of templars, mercenary guards and a young nobleman, who stood with his arms folded across his chest and a smug expression on his face. Nero froze upon seeing them, terror seizing his chest and locking his feet in place, images of their faces in a different place flashing through his memory, and echoes of the pain wrought on him by their hands whispering across his skin.

"Well, well, well. It would appear your pet has found you, Alrik." the nobleman smirked.

"That's one of the de Launcet boys, what is he-" Aveline's eyes widened in surprise, "oh maker! It was him, wasn't it?" she asked Nero.

He nodded and tightened his grip on his daggers as Alrik laughed, "I didn't realize you had a friend in the guard, much less the guard captain herself. That's a shame. You know I can't have you leave, of course." He placed his hands on his hips and turned to face the cowering girl, "I was just about to show this apostate what we do to mages who lie, then I suppose I'll be showing you what we do with mages who escape, how joyful."

"I just wanted to see my mum! No one ever told her where they were taking me." the girl tried to explain.

Suddenly Anders' skin was cracking and glowing and a black smoke seemed to emanate from his skin, "you will never touch another mage again." he stated, the echo of Justice in his voice, before hurling a fireball at the templar.

Ser Alrik dodged however, grabbing the nobleman as he did and shoving him in the direction of the stairs, saying "run, you fool. Your status will not protect you from a mage."

Nero growled and rushed forward, the terror replaced by a rage he had not known he could possess, he ran past the templars that were on fire and past Alrik, to grab the retreating man by the collar of his shirt, causing him to fall to his knees and gag due to the fabric constricting his throat.

"Eugene, was it?" He spat and threw one of his daggers into the chest of an approaching guard, he twisted the shirt in his hand, forcing the man to sit on the stairs and look up at him. Nero reveled in the terror he saw in the man's eyes, knowing that the other man had done the same to him. For a fucking month, he thought bitterly.

Nero let go of the man but before he could scrabble away he knelt onto the his chest, forcing him painfully into the stairs. Glancing up Nero noticed another guard approaching and tossed his other dagger to embed itself into the man's skull.

"I will have you know, I am no mage." Nero snarled

Eugene cowered, "b-b-b-b-ut, you're glowing! And I saw what you did to those men, and-"

Nero let his eyes drift to his hands, noticing for the first time that he was, in fact, glowing. Angry purple tendrils seemed to be streaming from his pores, forming a haze around his body. He ignored it, instead he laughed darkly, cutting the stuttering man off.

"You saw that did you? Would you like to know what they felt?" He smirked, "I think you would look very pretty, swimming in your own blood."

Before the man could respond Nero called upon the flames of another fireball that Anders was throwing and the fire encircled Eugene's wrists and ankles, forcing him to cry out in pain. Nero stood, but Eugene could not get up, nor could he move his limbs. The fire holding him still, as though it was chaining him to the ground. Tears filled the nobleman's eyes and Nero spat on him, then watched as roots shot up around the man, and curled towards Eugene. Slowly the pointed ends pushed their way into Eugene's body, blood oozing out around them. Several minutes passed before Eugene's screams were cut off by a gargle as he began to choke on his own blood and his body convulsed. Nero watched all the while, growing impatient when the body stopped convulsing but the eyelids kept fluttering and pulled the small knife from his belt and slit the man's throat.

Nero stepped over the mangled corpse to retrieve his daggers and took in the situation around him. Isabela was knocked out and Aveline was bleeding from her arm and leaning heavily on her shield, trying to catch her breath. Nero could not see Fenris but there was a faint glow coming from the way they had come. Justice was still fighting Alrik, who seemed determined not to die.

No longer preoccupied, Nero advanced on the Templar and quickly ended the battle with his blades. He saw the girl they had saved retreating from both Anders and him, and he almost felt shame at the fear he saw on her face. Almost.

Justice, however, was not satisfied, and swung the staff in his hand threateningly, "they will die!" he said, "I will have every last templar for these abuses."

"What, right now?" Nero asked incredulously.

He turned on Nero, and said threateningly "Every one of them will feel justice's burn."

"Get away from me, demon!" the girl said.

Justice then turned his attention to the mage, and approached her angrily, "I am no demon! Are you one of them, that you would call me such."

"Justice...Anders, whoever, that girl is a mage, you just rescued her from being made tranquil. The fuck are you on about?" Nero demanded.

"She is theirs, I can feel their hold on her." Justice insisted.

Nero frowned and approached the man, grabbing him by the shoulder to force Justice to look at him, instead of the girl. Justice growled and glowed brighter, but Nero was not deterred, instead it only made him more angry.

"Are you serious? I thought you were a spirit of Justice, not this..this...vengeful bastard. I will not let you kill her because you're a fucking lunatic. What the hell do you think that would do to Anders?" he demanded.

Justice shoved him away, "do not pretend that you could stop me, worm. I do not know why Anders demanded your help, you are not worthy of this cause. Step aside or face your death."

"Do not threaten me, spirit, or you will find yourself returning to the fade, permanently." Nero growled, leftover rage from the confrontation with Eugene and anger at the absurdity of arguing with a fade spirit causing him to glow again. Tree roots rose from the ground behind him and wavered in the air as though they were bodyguards, waiting to strike.

"Please, messere's." the girl begged.

Speaking was a mistake on her part, as it reminded Justice of her presence. He turned and pulled back an arm, a ball of energy forming around his hand. Before he could throw it at the girl, however, the glowing flickered out and Anders stumbled backwards. The blue cracks flickered shut and Anders fell to his knees, holding his head as though he could physically hold Justice in there.

Nero rested his eyes on the girl, "I suggest you leave, quickly."

"Where will she go?" Aveline asked from where she rested next to Isabela, trying to rouse her. Fenris stood next to them, a slightly amazed look on his face.

Nero shook his head, "I don't care."

"I will escort her back to the circle, then." Aveline stood, "I am not bleeding very heavily any longer." She spared a glance at Anders, "Maker, good luck with that." She muttered with a shake of her head before forcing the girl to her feet and leading her away.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but what are you going to do?

Nero warily approached Anders, unsure if Justice would suddenly re-take control and...well he'd rather not think about it.

"Maker, no." Anders gasped, "I - I almost killed that girl." He stood and looked at Nero, terrified, "If you weren't here... I - I need to get out of here." Nero watched as the mage returned back the way they had come, and frowned sadly.

Suddenly Isabela groaned, "this is already a terrible hangover."

"Maybe we should take you somewhere...that's not filled with dead bodies." Nero suggested. Suddenly he remembered the real reason they had gone down there in the first place and searched Alrik's body.

"What the void happened?" Isabela said, taking in her surroundings.

"We killed some templars and the abomination almost killed a mage." Fenris summarized as he helped her to her feet.

Isabela gaped at him, "you're kidding. I wish I hadn't missed that."

They made quick work of returning through the tunnels,having already killed just about everything in them. Isabela quickly got her wits about her again, and was walking on her own when they re-emerged into Darktown.

They climbed a set of stairs before Nero stopped them and spoke for the first time since he suggested leaving the underground passage. "I think, maybe you two should go on ahead. I should check on Anders-"

"Are you kidding me? He tried to kill you." Fenris said in disbelief.

Nero sighed, "that wasn't him...he likes to say that he and Justice are the same being...but I don't believe him. Anders never would have-"

"Vishante cae vess! He is a monster and should be killed, why can't you see that?" Fenris growled. [Three demons take you!]

"Nolite maledicere mihi. Scio populus quod vocant vobis daemonium etiam, quod circuli magus certus ut void esse I erat. Ut ais, esset interfectus?" Nero hissed. [Don't you curse at me. I know people that would call you a demon too, that circle mage sure as the void thought that I was one. Are you saying we should be killed as well?]

"Nos sunt non possederunt-" [we are not possessed]

"Would you two speak in the common tongue, I haven't a clue what you are saying." Isabela interrupted.

"Ugh," Fenris threw up his hands in disgust, "go to the mage then, but if you do not come home, I will kill the bastard myself." he walked off, leaving Nero scowling in his wake.

"So...that was both adorable and terrifying at the same time." Isabela smirked hen Fenris was out of sight, Nero narrowed his eyes at her and folded his arms across his chest. "fine, I'll leave, where did Aveline go, anyway?"

"She took the circle mage back to the gallows." Nero paused, "since when are you two friends, anyway?"

Isabela shrugged, "we like to hang out and insult each other. It's an odd friendship. But really, that seems fairly commonplace around here."

With that they parted ways, Nero making his way towards Anders' clinic, Isabela following Fenris. When Nero reached the clinic he found Anders going through a box of his things.

"Trash, trash, keep, trash, trash...won't be needing that anymore."

"I don't think throwing things out is going to make you feel any better." Nero said.

Anders jumped, having not heard the man enter, and frowned at him, "should I feel better? I almost killed that girl-"

"Justice almost killed her."

"It's the same thing. If you weren't there-"

"Would you stop? Beating yourself up isn't helping anybody. Certainly not you."

Anders sighed in frustration and began pacing angrily before stopping and barking out a laugh, "Justice is pissed. I think he wants me to kill you."

"Doesn't sound very much like a benevolent spirit anymore, does he?" Nero scowled.

Anders anger faded and he sat down heavily on one of his examination tables with a sigh. "I have corrupted him. I did not think...neither of us did. Dammit."

"You're only human Anders, there is no place in a human's body for a demon or spirit. There isn't enough room." Nero said, sitting on the table beside the mage.

"Where were you when it happened? Maybe I would have listened."

Nero snorted, "you barely listen to me now. I doubt it."

Anders smiled warily, "I want to get drunk. I miss getting drunk."

Nero laughed, "I may have to avoid you if you get hammered. Justice wont like it and if he comes out and kills me for shits and giggles then Fenris is going to come after you. It'll be a hell of a mess." Nero scratched the back of his head and looked at the ceiling, "he's already angry at me for coming here. I have a feeling if I died he would have me resurrected just so he could kill me himself."

"You didn't have to come, If he makes you happy...I'd rather not ruin it."

Nero chuckled, "you seemed fairly intent upon convincing me to end it with him earlier."

Anders shrugged, "sorry?"

"Besides, if he decides I'm not worth being with strictly because I'm friends with you, then he isn't worth my time is he?"

Anders nodded and they both fell silent until Nero leaned back and heard the crinkled of paper in his pocket. "Oh! I found this on Alrik. Evidently the tranquil solution began and ends with him."

"Thank the maker people like to write and keep letters on them. Let me see," Anders skimmed through the paper, "The divine...rejected the idea. Meredith, rejected the idea! This is not what I expected. Perhaps I should try talking to the grand cleric, maybe she is more reasonable than I thought. "

"If she's anything like Sebastian, then I doubt it." Nero scowled.

Anders chuckled, "you don't like him very much, do you?"

"Ugh." Nero said, standing, "I think I should go, lest Fenris get impatient and come storming in here, sword swinging."

"Okay...thank you for coming, I will think on what you've said."

...

"Still alive, I see." Fenris grumbled from where he sat in the gazebo, nursing a bottle of wine. He had cleaned himself up some when he had returned, but was still wearing his armor.

Nero rolled his eyes, "still angry, I see."

Fenris sighed and motioned to the chair across from him. Nero sat while Fenris put his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands. "It's just...there was...ugh. It wasn't that long ago...I don't trust him..."

Nero raised his eyebrow at the elf, not understanding what he was trying to get at. He grabbed the bottle and took a sip before leaning back in his chair to wait for Fenris to work it out.

"He was going to kill you." Fenris finally said, looking at Nero sadly.

Nero frowned, "I was pretty intent upon killing him at the time too."

"Even so..."

"Wait a second," Nero smirked, "are you saying you think Anders could have beaten me?" he laughed, "I am offended, I may never talk to you again."

It was Fenris' turn to roll his eyes, but he leaned back in his chair with a small grin on his face anyway "I could find a way to live with that."

"Will the insults never end?" Nero asked the roof of the gazebo.

"You're in a surprisingly good mood, considering who we ran into." the elf observed.

"And why not? Eugene de Launcet is dead, so is the templar Alrik. I now know who took me, and have made sure they cannot take me again." Nero grinned, "I also like to think that once our neighbors hear of Eugene's fate anybody that might have shared his views will think twice about acting on them like he did."

"Was I imagining things, or did I really see you glowing?"

"No, I was definitely glowing...or oozing...or something. It kind of looked like purple smoke was coming from my skin." Nero shrugged his shoulders.

"Is that...normal?"Fenris asked.

"I dont know, if I've ever done it before, I am not aware. I think it had something to do with my anger, I was in a particularly foul mood at the time."

"Do you think its related to your eyes glowing?"

"Probably not, but maybe. I don't know." Nero frowned before shrugging his shoulders and looking up at the roof of the mansion, "You haven't gone up there at any point, have you?"

Fenris followed his gaze, "what, the roof? Why would I go up there?"

"I don't know, just be careful if you do...I don't think I got all the claw traps."

"What?"

Nero chuckled, "I covered the roof in traps in the event someone decided they wanted to try and break into the house through the courtyard. I tried to get rid of most of them when I saw the cat in the yard...I wonder where he's been..."

"Somebody probably caught him."

"How depressing," Nero frowned for a moment before getting up from his chair with a smirk. "I appear to be covered in blood, I think a bath is in order."

"You smell bad, too." Fenris told him.

"Thanks for that." He began to make his way back inside when he stopped and turned back to Fenris with his head tilted to the side, "You know...there is this place, quiet a ways past Sundermount, that I've been meaning to take you to. Some small mountain that probably has a name, but I don't know what it is. Would you like to go?"

"Right now? I thought you were going to bathe." Fenris questioned

"Well I was going to do that first. And pack, I imagine that we'll be gone for a few days."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: upload it with another one, of course!

"Are you planning on telling me anything about where we're going?" Fenris asked for the sixth time since they had left Kirkwall two days prior. Thus far their trip had been uneventful, except at night, Fenris thought with a small smile, those were always interesting.

"We are going to a kink-fest. There will be all different species of people, I hear they even have a Tal-Veshoth who will beat you with his penis if you are too polite. And chocolate, there's a tonne of chocolate. They buy fruit and dip it in the chocolate and you can only eat it if someone else is feeding it to you and you're both naked." Nero said seriously.

"I think that might be the most creative response I've gotten from you yet. Much better than the pie eating festival one."

"You think so? You seemed rather excited about the apple pie."

"Is there to be no pie at this kink-fest thing, then?" Fenris teased.

"Not the kind you're thinking of, no."

Fenris stopped walking and put his hands on his hips. "bah, let us go home then. All I want now is pie."

Nero scowled, "just pie?"

Fenris let his eyes rove over Nero's body before looking at him blankly, "just pie."

Nero laughed and continued up the mountain, "we're almost there."

"You said that yesterday."

"I may or may not have been lying."

"Hmph."

It took a few minutes before they got to a hole in a cliff wall and Fenris looked at Nero skeptically. Nero chuckled and grabbed him by the wrist, forcing the elf to follow him. Their feet echoed off of the stone walls, mixing with the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The light from outside slowly faded the deeper they went in, till they were enshrouded in darkness.

"I can't help but notice that I can't see." Fenris tried to say quietly but his voice was amplified by the cavern.

Nero chuckled "you're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

Fenris snorted, "only marginally, I have no idea where your taking me."

"Yes, I know. You've only been reminding me every hour since we left Kirkwall."

"Well what do you...oh."

Nero watched smugly as he let the ferns fall back to where they were covering the entrance into the cavern and Fenris gazed in wonder at their surroundings. It was a small cave and the floorspace was drastically diminished by the large pool of water in one corner of it, wisps of steam coming from it. The pool was raised about waist-high, smooth rock forming an edge around it. Light streamed in from an opening in the ceiling, revealing a small fireplace from previous times that Nero had been there and an unnatural ledge made of rock surrounding the room.

"Interesting." Fenris said after a moment.

"Truly." Nero said with a smirk and dropped his pack on the floor, then he stepped in front of the elf and pulled the pack from his shoulders and placed it, along with the longsword, on the floor as well. "Ever been in a hot spring?" he asked

"Not that I'm aware." Fenris replied.

Nero grabbed him by the chestplate and pulled him closer, letting their lips meet. He reached behind the elf and began untying the straps and dropping bits and pieces of the armor to the floor while simultaneously leading the elf towards the water. When he hit the rim of the pool he hopped up so that he was sitting on it and wrapped his legs around Fenris, holding him in place as he pulled the tunic off of him. Fenris placed his hands on either side of Nero and leaned down to nuzzle the man's neck, awarding Nero with a nice view of his taught back and the curls of lyrium adorning it.

Fenris heard a low moan rumbling in Nero's chest when he nibbled and kissed his way from the man's shoulder to just under his ear. The hoops in Nero's earring clinking against the metal cuff when Fenris' cheek jarred them. Nero traced his fingers along his favorite tattoo, the one that branched off from the main one that trailed the elf's spine, and curled around the his side to end in a point around Fenris' hip bone. As he did so Fenris shivered and Nero watched as the hair raised on his shoulders and arms and goosebumps marred his flesh. He smiled and curled his fingers into the top of Fenris' pants, slowly stroking one of his thumbs along the bottom of the elf's erection.

"I can't help myself, you're markings are quite...attractive." Nero said quietly into Fenris' ear.

All he got was a grunt in reply. Fenris' mind was elsewhere, mostly with the thumb teasing his cock, but a small portion was spent focusing on undoing Nero's belt and the straps holding the his armor on.

Nero chuckled at the elf's struggles and resigned himself to helping. This meant he had to release his hold on the man and before hopping down from the rock he kicked off his boots, untying his belt and undoing his straps as he did so. He tried to recall a time that Fenris didn't struggle taking off his clothes, but he could think of none...unless Nero happened to be wearing a single shirt and was free of accessories. The poor elf is hopeless, he chuckled quietly to himself. Fenris heard him anyway and scowled.

"I'm taller than you, you know." he said, in an attempt to redeem himself, somehow.

Nero snorted, "not by much."

"I hate you."

Nero pulled his shirt over his head and raised his eyebrow at the elf when he saw the twitch in his pants, "I have reason to believe otherwise."

"Indeed." Fenris found himself smiling at the way Nero was now ogling him. It always surprised him when he realized how attractive the other man seemed to find him, despite his markings. Fenris found himself repulsive both because of his markings and because of everything else he was, he could not fathom why Nero liked him this way, although he tried not to question it. Enjoy it while it lasts, he told himself.

There were times, when they were in bed and Nero was sleeping, that he expected him to wake up and tell him to leave. Or he expected to fall asleep and wake to find Nero and all his things gone, but each morning he was surprised to find the other man still in bed, usually hogging the blankets and using Fenris' pillow instead of his own, but there none-the-less. The paranoia only got worse after they had an argument, he was always so sure that Nero would either stab him or simply disappear, but so far...

Fenris was stunned by it, he knew himself, he knew how difficult he was, he could tell how badly he infuriated Nero sometimes. So why had Nero not left? It wasn't love, Fenris knew better than that. Love was a fantasy that story-tellers and little girls believed in, and was often confused with friendship and the feeling one family member held for another. He had begun to wonder if maybe it was possible that Nero enjoyed his...companionship as much as he enjoyed Nero's. But he still doubt it, the idea was so...peculiar. But then, so was Nero.

And this side of himself that appeared when he was with Nero, it was..scary. He could think of no better word for how he felt about it. He felt so lost around Nero, but he was so addicted. It was like the other man overpowered his anger, there were even moments that Fenris seemed to forget about the tragedy of his life, and Denarius, Hadriana, Tevinter. He made terrible jokes, and he teased, and he laughed and this was not who he was. He did not know who he was without his anger, but he liked feeling normal. And so he couldn't stop, he couldn't leave, even when he wanted to.

His thoughts were quickly silenced when Nero grabbed him and pressed him against the rock, nails scratched down his chest and abdomen till they reached his trousers again, and they were pushed down. He trembled at the sensations shooting through his body and gasped, the sound echoing around them as though he had yelled.

Nero's fingers loosely wrapped around Fenris' cock and he teasingly stroked it, he leaned forward and bit the muscle twitching in the elf's neck before gently massaging the spot with his tongue. Fenris bucked into the hand teasing him and raised a hand from where it was fisted at his side and slid it gently into the other man's hair. He pulled Nero's head back and pressed their lips together, teasing the other man's bottom one with his tongue for a moment before sucking on it harshly, causing Nero to whimper quietly. He absentmindedly noticed that Nero's voice didn't seem to be echoing like his own was before he let his hand fall again and rested his forehead against the other man's shoulder.

A few moments passed, where he grew incredibly more aroused at the way he was being teased and his breathing quickened. He shivered at the lips and teeth on his neck and ear and slowly he raised his head so that his cheek was resting gently against Nero's.

He swallowed roughly before speaking, "I wish for you to take me."

Nero stiffened and dropped his hand to his side before pulling back to search the elf's face, he found it reassuring that Fenris was looking back, apprehensive, maybe, but looking nonetheless. But even so..."why?" he asked gently.

Fenris blushed and Nero suppressed a smile. Fenris didn't blush very often, it was always so cute when he did. "I just...I do." the elf tried to explain, brow furrowing at the inadequacy of his words. He tried again, "you will do it differently, and...I would like to experience..." his eyes left Nero's face and he scowled at the wall behind him.

Certain that this was not like the last time that the elf had asked Nero nodded, "you will tell me to stop if it is uncomfortable for you."

Fenris shifted his gaze back to Nero and nodded. Nero stepped away and dug through a pack for some oil before returning to the elf and searching his face once more, for apprehension or fear, Fenris figured, and refused to show any. Of course he was afraid, not that it would be like all the other times, but that it would remind him of all the other times anyway. He had more than enough reason to believe that Nero would be kinder, gentler. So he was afraid but a part of him was also...excited. Nero seemed to enjoy himself while he was being taken...enjoyed himself a lot, actually, and this left Fenris wondering if he too could enjoy it so much. He certainly hadn't enjoyed it that much before. The most pleasant time had been with Hawke and even that-oh, keep doing that. Nero's hand had found Fenris' erection again and stroked it firmly a few times before letting it go again.

Then Nero dropped to his knees and in one swift motion he had the head of Fenris' cock at the back of his throat. Fenris' knees almost gave out at the suddenness of the sensation and his fingers dug painfully into the rock, which served to anchor him, lest he lose himself completely.

Slowly Nero pulled back, swirling his tongue along the underside of Fenris' cock along the way. Then he pulled the elf's pants off the rest of the way and, placing them under the elf, he pressed his fingers at the back of Fenris' knees, enticing the man to sit. And Fenris did, on his own pants more than the dirt of the cavern floor, then Nero moved backwards and pulled Fenris towards him by his hips, causing the elf to lay on his back.

Fenris barely had time to shiver at the feel of cold stone touching his back before his cock was encased in Nero's mouth again. He didn't even notice when one of Nero's oily fingers began to massage his entrance and jumped when it went in. He was surprised at how little it hurt and even more stunned at the loud moans that Nero coaxed out of him when he began to move it.

It wasn't long before there were two more fingers inside and he was once again surprised at how little each addition hurt him. It still stung, of course, but it was a lot less noticeable than he was used to. Later the only reason he would be able to come up with to explain this was that his mind and body was far to distracted by the expert blowjob he was receiving while he was being prepared.

And then he hollered and stiffened, a blinding pleasure shooting throughout his body. Gasping, he raised his head to look at Nero, finding the man frozen and wearing a mixture of confusion, guilt, and worry on his face.

"In irrumabo erat quod?" Fenris asked him. [the fuck was that?]

"I'm going to assume you've never felt that...before..." Nero slowly raised an eyebrow.

Fenris dropped his head back to the ground, wincing at the impact, "no."

The fingers were removed from him carefully, for which he was disappointed, but he was still trying to bring his mind back together to form a coherent thought and didn't say anything. So far all he was succeeding in thinking was, 'get him to do that again.' He opened his mouth to demand such but was distracted when Nero's cock poked him in the leg and his head blocked out the sunlight.

Fenris slowly opened his eyes to find himself looking into a pair of cheery purple orbs. Nero was on his hands and knees over top of him, and Fenris momentarily remembered the time that Hawke had done the same and he had felt trapped, he realized that he never felt that way with Nero and smile.

"There is a spot, inside of you, a bundle of nerves, that's what I touched." Nero explained, "I hope you liked it because, ah, I'm not completely sure I can not hit it. Not unless I take you from behind, and I don't want to do that, you are far to pretty to not watch."

Fenris scowled, "I am not pretty."

Nero chuckled, and kissed the elf gently, "maybe pretty is a poor word to use. Do I have you're permission to continue?"

"I've been wondering why you stopped." Fenris admitted.

Nero smiled and kissed him once more before sitting back on his haunches and lining himself up with Fenris' entrance. He looked to the elf once last time questioningly and only continued at the nod he received. Any doubts he had, however, were replaced by the loud groan that escaped Fenris and the fingers digging into his thighs as Nero pushed himself in.

Nero was suddenly very thankful he had plenty of experience in controlling his sexual urges, because right now they were screaming at him to take the elf with reckless abandon. As it was he slowly reached the point where he was buried to the hilt and he let loose the breath he had been holding with a groan. After a few agonizing moments Fenris began to squirm, and Nero slowly began to move, amazed by the thoroughly blissful moans and gasps escaping the man under him.

Nero leaned forward so that his cheek was resting on Fenris' and whispered, "i realize that this has more meaning for you than is obvious, "he paused with a groan before continuing, "so, i wanted you to know...thank you"

Fenris didn't reply, he was too busy being stunned and baffled by how good it felt. He found himself wishing that he had demanded this from the beginning. It was like everybody else that had ever had him this way had been novices, although he knew it was mostly just because they didn't care if he enjoyed himself or not. When Nero hit that spot again he yelled out again and clutched the man's arms as though he would die if he didn't. But the bursts of pleasure did not stop and soon he was blind and deaf and he didn't care because all he was aware of was how intense it was. Nero's fingers barely touched his cock before he climaxed all over the both of them, then he lay gasping and twitching while Nero finished himself.

Several minutes passed before Fenris came back to himself, he realized that most of his mess was gone, although his stomach and chest were still fairly sticky, and that Nero was starting a fire. Fenris let his head fall to the side to watch the other man, surprised by the depth of foreign emotion he felt at that moment. He tried to lift his own hand to wipe away some sweat on his brow but only succeeded in twitching his fingers, he tried to scowl at his hand but failed miserably. He was physically drained and weak, but far too content to care.

The sun had begun setting and red light illuminated the other man's scarred back, reminding Fenris of the time he had found him in the undercity, covered in his own blood. His stomach lurched sickeningly at the thought and he tried not to think to hard about why. The scars didn't seem to bother Nero anymore, not with physical discomfort anyway. Nero was...embarrassed? ashamed? He did not often turn his back to Fenris when he was shirtless, and at first he had thought it was because Nero did not trust him, until he realized that he was anxious every time he was naked around Nero at first too, only he had ignored it better. Even if Nero did claim to like the markings, Fenris did not.

Fenris was not disgusted by the scars marring the other man's otherwise smooth flesh, despite what Nero believed. They were a part of Nero now, and he barely even noticed them most of the time. He only wished that he could convince Nero that they were not something he need feel ashamed of, but Fenris knew he could not do that for the other man, no more than Nero could get Fenris to like his own markings.

After assuring himself the that fire would not die out on them Nero turned his gaze to Fenris, finding the elf watching him. Despite himself Nero felt a blush creep up his neck and smiled but looked away quickly. He heard the elf chuckle and stood to go through their packs and set up their bedrolls.

Fenris spoke after he was done, "I think you broke me, Nero. I don't think I can move."

Nero laughed quietly, but did not respond. Instead he moved to kneel next to the elf and offered him a hand, "you haven't tried hard enough yet."

With a groan Fenris took his hand and was soon in a sitting position, leaning against the rock wall surrounding the pool of water that he had all but forgotten about. "I can't help but notice you don't ever have this problem." he teased.

A darkness passed over Nero's face, but it disappeared so fast that Fenris wasn't completely sure if he had actually seen it, "practice." was all he said.

"So you intend to do this to me over and over again?" Fenris asked.

Nero gave him a wry smile and helped him to stand, though wobbly, on his feet. "I didn't think I would hear any objections."

"I am not objecting."

Nero chuckled, "give it time and you will be as formidable a lay as I am."

"I wouldn't have thought it possible." Fenris said dryly.

"Oh, its not. I'm one of a kind." Nero laughed, "I don't know about you, but I'm sticky, and there just so happens to be a rather large, steamy pool of water sitting right here."

"Convenient, that."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Arsenio was mentioned in chpt 13 of act 1. And Bird was a sort of...friend they both had. If you don't remember her, don't feel bad. she was barely mentioned. I'm not sure why I bothered mentioning her now.
> 
> Also I changed Fenris' outfit, and I'm far too lazy to describe it so hey - here is a picture and the mod for it...too bad I play on le xbox and cant use it *le sigh* http:/dragonage[dot]nexusmods[dot]com/downloads/file[dot]php?id=2347

They had spent the rest of the night exploring each other some more, stopping only to bathe and eat and eventually, to sleep. The next morning they both slept in rather late, both being particularly exhausted by their...activities, but were packed and heading back to the city by midday. The trip back was proving to be rather uneventful as well, until the following day when they were making their way through the wounded coast and stumbled upon a group of bandits attacking a caravan.

Fenris would have been happy just leaving them to their own devices, as would Nero, until he had caught sight of a little girl laying alone in the back of the cart, drenched in blood from the slit in her throat. Who he assumed was her mother was on her knees with her husband and two young men, screaming, while a couple of men made sure they didn't run and a few more searched their things.

Nero didn't have to like children to be disgusted by their needless slaughter. And so he found himself dropping his pack and rushing forward to make quick work of the bastards. He threw his knife to land in one of the bandits throats and pulled his daggers out to stab and slice into the remaining bandits that Fenris didn't destroy. The woman's husband thanked them through red-rimmed eyes but was quickly distracted by grief and trying to console his wife.

Nero gave Fenris a sad look and turned to return to their packs so that they could continue on their way. A part of him wished to stay with the grieving family, but he knew that a strangers presence probably wouldn't be appreciated and they weren't likely to move very quickly. He also knew that he had likely only saved them from death at the hands of one group of bandits only to be killed at the hands of another, but he tried not to dwell on it.

He had almost reached his pack when he heard a voice that he had not thought he would hear again so long as he lived.

"Nero? Is that really you?" it asked hesitantly.

Nero started and turned around slowly, to find himself staring, open-mouthed at the form of Arsenio. Sen, from Tevinter, the whore that had taught him all that he knew, the first man he had ever...developed feelings for.

He looked the same as ever, short with dark skin and green eyes. His dark brown hair was longer, it reached his elbows now and he wore it in a braid the fell down his back. His wrinkles might be a little deeper and his skin a tad paler, and Nero could almost imagine that he had a little bit of buff going on, but otherwise it didn't look as though ten years had passed.

Nero was too surprised to speak and simply watched as the man approached him slowly, when he stood only a foot away he said, "Maker's breath, it really is you!" and before either Nero or Fenris could react Arsenio had wrapped his arms around Nero and was pressing their lips together.

Nero's eyes remained open the entire time, and he caught sight of Fenris off to the side watching, his own shock freezing him to the spot. Nero was the first to get his wits about him and grabbed the man kissing him by the shoulders and gently held him at arms length.

If Arsenio noticed the elf who was now glowering off to the side or the confusion on Nero's face he ignored it. Instead his hands shot from Nero's hair, to his ears, to his armor, to his face and back to his hair. "Nero, I didn't think you still lived, what happened to your hair? Maker, what happened to your ears? What are you doing here? Andraste's ass, I can't believe your still alive!" the man tried, once again, to wrap his arms around him but Nero wouldn't let him, to this Arsenio frowned, "whats wrong?"

Nero sputtered and finally released the man, "you are dead." he said, "I mean, they told me you were dead. They told me they killed you."

Arsenio frowned, "is that what they told you? No, they did not kill me, obviously. They did the last thing either of us expected, they took me back Antiva and told me if they saw me again they would kill us both. I wanted to try to free you, I really did, but I didn't want you to die because of me."

"What exactly is going on?" neither of them had noticed Fenris silently approach them and jumped at the question.

Nero looked at him guiltily, with a hint of confusion, "this is Arsenio...he-I-uh.."

Arsenio rolled his eyes at Nero and turned to the elf with a smirk and a small bow, "I am Arsenio, I met Nero in Tevinter ten years ago, when I was kidnapped and -"

"But why are you here?" Nero interrupted.

Arsenio turned his attentions back to Nero, "a client was telling me about a neighbor of his in Kirkwall, and the way she described him, it sounded so much like you...I had to come, I had to know. And then the caravan I had hitched a ride on was attacked and here you are. Wow." he breathed the last part, amazement plain on his features.

The rest of the walk back was awkward for Fenris, he felt like a third wheel as the two caught up on the last ten years. As they spoke he realized that he was learning things about Nero that he had never known, apparently because he had never asked, and he silently cursed his non-inquisitive nature. Fenris was wary of this new person and grew irritated the more the man kept touching Nero, even if Nero didn't respond to it. Every time Arsenio laughed he would place a hand on Nero's shoulder or arm, and he would often reach over to touch Nero's hair or place it behind his ear. Fenris tried, and failed miserably, not to think about what their relationship was. But he was not blind, clearly the two had been close. And he found himself jealous that Nero had had a friend while he was a slave, and Fenris had not. He shook his head to rid the thought, that was not fair, it was not Nero's fault, but he could not get rid of the anger coiling in the pit of his stomach.

Nero found himself repeatedly forgetting that Fenris was even there, despite his attempts not to. He found it exciting to hear about Arsenio's life, especially considering he had believed the man dead for so long. He had grieved, and at times it seemed like he had never stopped, even now he could not stop himself from feeling guilty that Arsenio had ever spent time in Tevinter. As though he had been able to stop it from happening but didn't.

The past ten years, however, were less than eventful for Arsenio, and his story was little more than, 'I was caught, I met you, they took me back and told me not to return. So I continued to work at the whorehouse I grew up in, I still do, this is a sort of...vacation.' And the rest of their conversation focused on him and his past ten years, of which he wasn't exactly excited about. He was a little uncomfortable when Arsenio seemed to be proud of his success as an ...entertainer, that was not something he would expect Arsenio to be proud of. The other man knew that Nero had had misgivings about it and hated the idea. And Arsenio never asked about Bird, that was another thing that Nero was surprised at. Was it possible that over all this time Arsenio had simply forgotten about her?

Nero shoved those thoughts aside, he knew this man ten years ago, a lot can and does happen in ten years, people change. Maker, he changed himself. A part of him wondered how Arsenio had even recognized him. He started from his thoughts as he realized that Arsenio was holding his hand, he started and shook his hand loose, the contact making him uncomfortable.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Arsenio asked with a sad frown.

Nero ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out how exactly to word it, "things are uh...different now, Sen."

"So, does it have something to do with the dangerously sexy elf back there?" Arsenio asked with a smirk.

Nero flushed, this is one of the most awkward things...he thought to himself before looking back at a scowling Fenris and offering him an apologetic smile. He received a nod in return and looked back to the curious man walking beside him.

"It does." was all he could think of to say

"Oh how terribly awkward for you this must be then. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you deal with having to tell an ex-lover that you currently have a different lover while having both lovers in the same spot."

"Yeah...uh...thanks." Nero flinched. It wasn't that he didn't want either of them to know, he would have preferred if they had both known already. He just didn't want to be the one that told them, which, he realized, he technically didn't. It was still a far cry from his preferred scenario, being one that involved him being far, far away when they both found out. So awkward.

Arsenio shrugged and chuckled, "so, I don't suppose you would be willing to share."

"Are you asking me, or him?" Fenris growled from behind them.

Ignoring him, Nero said, "no, I would not."

Arsenio frowned, "more's the pity. That could have been exciting. You were so good too, a fast learner, I suppose I will just have to imagine what skills you might have picked up over the years." he said dreamily.

Nero's face turned red again and he pointed to the city walls that he hadn't realized they were so close to, "hey look, Kirkwall. Hello Kirkwall, I almost missed you."

Arsenio laughed.

...

"I must say, it is one thing for a slave to escape. It's entirely another for one to purchase a mansion." Arsenio was saying.

Night had fallen and they were heading to the Hanged Man. It was the time of the week that Varric always hosted a game of a cards and Nero had decided to introduce Arsenio to his friends.

When they had reached the city they had headed strait to the estate and Nero had situated Arsenio in a room down the hall from his own. Fenris was not pleased when he returned from shopping and found out. Nero was forced to try to explain to Fenris that they lived in an estate that was dramatically empty, he couldn't very well tell Arsenio to find his own lodgings. Fenris had begrudgingly agreed but he was still in a fowl mood, of which Nero was doing his best to ignore, knowing there was nothing he could do about it.

"Technically it's not mine. Its under the name of our friend, Hawke." Nero explained.

"Really? Garrett Hawke? I've heard many things about him. I don't suppose I should be surprised that you are friends with him. I hear he is quite...talented." Arsenio said with a wink.

Nero raised an eyebrow before scowling, remembering the altercation between Hawke and Fenris years ago. "Yes, well, that's not how I know him."

"Were you always such a prude? I don't remember you being such a prude."

"I'm not always a prude."

"No? Must just be today then."

"Ugh." Nero was surprised to find himself growing tired of Arsenio's company. It seemed that no more than five minutes passed before the man brought up something sex related, which probably would have been fine. Nero was alright talking about sex and making jokes about it...just not with his someone he had slept with, in front of someone that he was sleeping with. It seemed that Arsenio was not getting the hint, and he found himself wondering when the man stopped being so intuitive. Taking into account his profession, I suppose that I shouldn't be so surprised...

When they entered the Hanged Man Fenris made straight for the bar, and Nero found himself looking at it longingly. But first he decided to take Sen upstairs, and hoped desperately that there were enough people in Varric's suite to keep Arsenio busy so that he could slip away. Whiskey, I need a shot of whiskey, or six.

Luckily everyone was already there and a game of cards was already underway. Nero thanked the Maker even though he was slightly baffled that even Anders and Aveline were there. The two didn't always show up to card games, Aveline was often busy with her duties and Anders claimed that the clinic was busier lately. Nero suspected that the mage was simply becoming a recluse. He's even drinking! he thought with shock as Anders finished off a glass of a very dark amber liquid. Nero shook his head at the sight while he introduced Arsenio to everyone and gave a shortened version of how they ran into him.

"How do you manage to get all the attractive men, Nero?" Hawke asked with a seductive grin aimed at Arsenio.

Arsenio chuckled then said in his most seductive voice "from what I hear he has not managed to get you, messere Hawke."

"Uh, right. I'm going to go get myself a drink." Nero said, fortunately he was ignored by the two men and he turned to leave.

Before he left, however, Anders reached out to him and grabbed hold of the bottom of his shirt. Stopping, Nero looked down at the man with a raised eyebrow. Anders gave him a wide, sort of delirious, smile and shook his glass at him, "I would like some more, if you would be so kind." he slurred.

Stunned Nero took the glass from him and looked questioningly at the only person paying attention to them, Isabela. She laughed, "I don't know sweetling, he showed up and demanded that he get properly tossed. You know I can never say no to a man on a mission."

"But what about Justice, I thought-"

"Oh don't talk about him," Anders giggled. "you'll wake him up. he's such an ass, also, you make him angry."

"Right." Nero said slowly before turning to head down the stairs.

He approached the spot where Fenris was speaking to the bartender and was already halfway through a mug of ale when Nero sat in the stool next to him. Nero told the bartender what he wanted and it wasn't long before there were three empty shot glasses in front of Nero and he was feeling pleasantly warm.

Fenris raised an eyebrow at him, "here I though you were enjoying the company of your friend."

"I was...maker, even Isabela doesn't talk about sex that much. I'll die a happy man if I never hear another story about someone Arsenio has fucked again."

"Oh, good, it isn't just me then."

"At least you were gone for a few hours." Nero said, then he appraised the new outfit that Fenris had purchased approvingly. When Fenris noticed he looked at Nero accusingly, daring him to insult it. Nero laughed, "it looks extremely good on you. It makes you all prim and proper." he said with a sly smile "donec eget tellus videntes me decet" [I just look forward to seeing it on my floor is all]

Fenris chuckled and coughed, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. Nero smiled, "sorry, I couldn't help myself. Seriously though, what made you decide to buy it?"

"I saw it at a stall and thought, 'oh god, I can't live without it'?" Fenris offered, sighing when Nero continued to look at him, waiting for the real reason. "It was something Aveline had said a few days ago...the way I dress, brings a lot of attention to us...and we don't need it."

"Does this mean I never get to see you spiky again?" Nero asked, a teasing frown on his face.

Fenris snorted, "hardly, there is some armor in this getup, but I'm not about to go into a situation I know people are going to try to kill me in and not wear real armor."

"Ever practical," Isabela said from behind them, "if I didn't know you better I would think you were a gentleman." she smacked Fenris hard on the back of the head, "that's for not telling me you were shopping, you dick." Then she eyed him top to bottom approvingly, "you are lucky I approve, otherwise I would make you go shop some more."

Fenris scowled at her and took another drink.

"Somebody is in a bad mood, could it be the man talking to Hawke about sex upstairs?"

"I'm surprised you could tear yourself away." Fenris muttered.

"It was difficult, I assure you." She chuckled before turning to Nero, "I'm here because Anders is going to have a fit if you don't return with his drink." she said with a smile.

"The abomination is drinking?" Fenris asked incredulously.

"Oh yes, he is perfectly plastered." she laughed.

"I don't even know what he's drinking," Nero said, sniffing the glass he had brought with him, "maker that's strong."

"It's some dwarven ale, I'm surprised they even have it here. I'll be damned if I know where he first came across it" she said before ordering another glass. "Varric says it's acid, and after trying it, I agree with him." she grimaced

"I don't think letting the abomination get drunk is the smartest thing you've ever done." Fenris grumbled.

"I did a scholar once, he was probably the smartest...it's fine, Justice is letting him." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Wonderful, perhaps we should go make sure he's not killing anybody."

"You're such a pessimist."

They returned to the room to find Arsenio sitting in Hawke's lap, chuckling at something that Hawke was whispering into his ear. He glanced at the trio as they entered, but otherwise ignored everybody, to which Nero was grateful.

Isabela returned to her seat next to Anders, Fenris and Nero took the only two empty chairs, which were opposite Isabela and the mage. When Isabela handed Anders his drink he cheered and took a long swig, when he set the glass back on the table he swayed a little but forced himself to stop with a determined expression.

The rest of the night passed awkwardly, Anders passed out not long after and they carried him to Varric's bed to sleep it off. Hawke and Arsenio left about an hour later, having spent the entire evening ignoring everyone else. After that things were quiet, and Fenris and Nero left earlier than they would have if they hadn't been on the road most of the day. Upon entering the mansion the two had gone to their respective rooms for the first time since Nero had returned from the clinic.


	15. Chapter 15

"I'm sorry, Nero. I was overwhelmed by nerves, so I referred to what I knew best. I didn't mean to make things awkward between us." Arsenio was saying.

It was a couple of days later, and Nero was tending to his garden when Arsenio approached him, asking to talk. They sat in the gazebo and Nero thought back to how uncomfortable the previous couple of days had been. Arsenio had returned to Nero's mansion the morning after the night at the bar, obviously having spent the night at Hawke's, which did not particularly bother him at all. What bothered him was that Hawke had decided to divulge his night with Fenris to Arsenio, and when Hawke had visited that night Nero had found out that Arsenio had shared his experiences with Nero to Hawke as well. The two men had spent the remainder of the night talking about sex and sex-related techniques, and speculating on what Nero and Fenris' more intimate moments were like. That is, until Fenris stormed out and headed to the Hanged Man for a stiff drink and Nero locked himself in his room.

The next day had seen Nero avoiding Arsenio and Fenris avoiding everyone. By the time the sun had set Hawke had returned and taken Arsenio out, for Maker knows what. Nero had tried to talk to Fenris then, thinking that the elf might be more comfortable with Arsenio gone, but he insisted he wanted to be left alone. Since they had stumbled upon Arsenio they hadn't shared a bed once, and it was beginning to set Nero's nerves on edge. It was grating on his nerves how easily Arsenio seemed to be putting a wedge between them, especially since he knew that Fenris was not particularly comfortable with anyone. He knew his relationship with Fenris was an exception to whatever rules the elf had for that sort of thing, and he did not wish to be placed in the same boat as others because certain people couldn't keep their mouths shut.

As it was, despite the sincerity of Arsenio's apology, Nero could not bring himself to do little more than scowl at him, a little afraid that if he opened his mouth it would only release a string of curses.

Arsenio frowned sadly, "I've spoken to Garrett about it too, and we both agree that we went too far the other day."

"You shouldn't have said anything about it in the first place." Nero said, his voice strained from holding his anger in check, "I am not like you. I did not choose to be a whore, and I would like the friends I have gained since escaping Tevinter to not think of me as such."

Arsenio picked absently at his sleeve, "I...I know, I cannot explain myself...maybe I was just jealous that you had found somebody else when I have not."

For a moment Nero could do little more than look at the other man in stunned silence, finally he shook his head quickly and asked, "do you even believe in monogamy? why do you even care if I am with someone?"

Arsenio smile ruefully, "I think monogamy can be done, for the right reasons. As for why I care.."He frowned and looked away, "I thought you had loved me back then, and I guess, I was expecting that again."

"What? I...uh..."Nero furrowed his brow, his anger dissipating as he thought, hard. "I don't know, I probably did...I'm sure I did. But that was ages ago, I was young and naive...no that's not what I mean..." he paused for several minutes as he thought, thankful that Arsenio waited patiently for him to speak, "I thought I did at the time, but now...I think that if I had truly loved you I wouldn't have been so self-centered about it. I never considered that you must have been suffering, you were kidnapped and taken there, you had a life beforehand that was snatched from you. I just blindly pretended that we loved each other, because it made me feel better."

"It wasn't necessarily untrue..."Arsenio began, "I did develop...something for you, too. I don't know what I was expecting, that I would find you and we would prance into the sunset or something equally as stupid. This is not why I came to talk to you though, I simply wanted to apologize for my actions."

"Apologizing to me is fine, but what about Fenris? You are a complete stranger to him and you mocked him for things I'm not completely sure hes ever felt before. It is a measure of his resolve that you are still able to speak. Had you been anyone else, acting and saying the things you did I have no doubt that you would be in pieces." As he spoke, Nero got angrier and struggled to keep it in check, he ended up spitting out "If I thought you had anywhere else to go I would have kicked you out days ago. You may have been my friend once, but our past selves might as well be different people for all it means now."

"Well that's wonderful, just great." Arsenio growled, "I come all the way to Kirkwall from Antiva to see if you are alive and you threaten to kick me out? What the fuck happened to you?"

Nero stood, "do not ask things you would not wish the answer to" he snarled and tried to control his anger...again, "I invited you into my home and you insult both me and Fenris, what kind of reaction were you expecting?"

Nero left before the man had a chance to respond, slamming the door behind him; his gardening forgotten.

...

Nero hadn't been pacing his room for more than five minutes before he heard a knock at his door. He heaved a loud sigh of irritation and sat on his bed before saying, "go away, Arsenio."

Even so the door cracked open and he looked up to see Fenris entering and closing it quietly behind him. Nero raised his eyebrow in question.

"I heard you...talking, in the courtyard." Fenris said sheepishly, looking anywhere but directly at the other man, "I had thought that you saw no issue with the way he had been treating me...or us, as it were. I am sorry."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

"Yes." He said with a sigh before sitting beside Nero, "but that is not the only reason. I could not imagine a conversation between us not evolving into a loud argument. I did not wish to give him more to talk about."

"I don't remember Arsenio being such an ass...but then..."Nero trailed off

"You were in love with him." Fenris supplied in monotone.

"Sure, as much as a newborn slave can be in love with another slave." Nero snorted, before adding "but yes, I suppose I did. He was the first person to ever show me kindness without expecting something in return, I don't think I could have stopped myself if I had wanted to."

"Mm."

Several minutes passed with neither of them making a move to say anything more. So Nero decided to continue the conversation, "you don't think I still do, do you? Love him, I mean."

"I..."Fenris turned to look at the other man questionably, searching his face before he continued, "no, no I don't think so."

"Yet...you still seem troubled...whats wrong?" Nero asked hesitantly, trying to recall something else that might have upset the elf. Fenris was being unusually quiet as they spoke and he had a far-off look in his eyes, like his mind was somewhere else. Nero was sure that Fenris would be fidgeting if he hadn't been a slave and had such impulses beaten out of him.

"I've been...thinking on things. Things that I have been doing well to ignore till now..."he trailed off and furrowed his brow as he thought, "you are basically a mage, and I have been unable to comprehend why this does not bother me very much. Even if you were not a mage, you are good friends with an abomination that wishes to lead all mages to rebellion. I cannot understand why I tolerate it."

Nero raised an eyebrow at the elf, his mouth slightly agape. "this has been bothering you?" he asked quietly.

Fenris nodded but otherwise did not reply, the expression on his face told Nero that Fenris was confused and irritated because of it.

"I am not a mage...maybe that's why it doesn't bother you. I cannot conjure things as a mage does, I cannot cut myself to become stronger and we now know that I can't even be tempted by demons. I can only manipulate things that are already there. I'm sure you could call it a type of magic if you wanted to, but I assure you no mage would consider it such." Nero said reassuringly.

"You are what you are because of blood magic, surely that should have been enough to turn me away." Fenris insisted.

Nero couldn't help himself and let out a breathy laugh, "are you saying you would condemn me because of something I can't control? Also, do not tell me you think that you are what you are now without blood magic. I'm sure that the lyrium was not put in you by pure means."

Fenris sighed loudly and rubbed his hands over his face, asking himself why he keeps looking for reasons to hate the other man, when he so clearly did not. Now that he had voiced some of his thoughts he felt like even more of an idiot. His attentions were taken away from his thoughts however, when he heard Nero speak, angrily.

"Wait a minute...you don't understand why you 'tolerate' my friendship with Anders? What are you implying you would do if you stopped tolerating it?"

"I...what?" Fenris blinked.

"I am not friends with Anders because you tolerate it, Fenris. I've been friends with him far longer than I have been friends with you. You would not be able to stop it if you did decide you couldn't 'tolerate' it anymore-"

"No! That is not what I meant!" Fenris waved his hands around in between them, as thought he could cast those thoughts away. "I did not mean that I would do something to make you stop being friends with him...I did not. I mean. Venhedis. It was a bad choice of words, I didn't mean to..."

"Sound like a magister?" Nero offered, his arms folded across his chest.

Fenris deflated, "I'm sorry."

Nero relaxed, and let his anger ease away. He placed a hand on one of Fenris' and began stroking his inner wrist with his thumb, "everyone appears to be sorry today. I shouldn't have taken offense. I'm sorry if my similarities to a mage bother you sometimes, I am but a cheap imitation of one. As for Anders...I don't like Sebastian very much but I put up with your friendship with him, I would appreciate it if you did the same for me."

"You don't like Sebastian? Why?" Fenris asked

"No particular reason...maybe I'm just jealous of his youth." And he's an egotistical, blind, fool. he thought

Fenris laughed, "you're not that old."

"Oh?" Nero asked, raising his head and arching an eyebrow, "and how old am I?"

"31, aren't you?" at Nero's questioning look he added, "I found the slaver papers that you had brought back here three years ago."

Nero narrowed his eyes, "damn you."

Fenris only chuckled.

...

Another couple of days passed before Nero saw Hawke or Arsenio again. He could only assume that the two had been together at the Amell estate, as he hadn't so much as heard them around his home. As it was they showed up one afternoon at the hanged man, where Nero and Fenris were eating lunch and playing cards with Varric and Isabella.

Once again, Nero was losing tremendously, and tossed his hand on the table in disgust, "why do I insist upon playing this crap?" he grumbled to himself.

"Don't be so hard on yourself-oh, hello Hawke, Daisy...and Arsenio, was it? Come to lose some coin, have you?" Varric asked cheerfully.

"Not today Varric," Hawke said just as cheerfully, "We're heading to Sundermount to see Merrill's clan about an aru-holm or whatever, I was just wondering if anybody else wanted to come."

"Arulin'Holm, Hawke." Merrill corrected.

Nero shot a questioning look at Arsenio, who told him, "I've never seen a real Dalish Clan before, of course I'm going."

"You do realize that there are still bandits and other dangers out there, right?" Nero asked.

"Yes but this time I'll be out there with a mage and a warrior, so I should be fine. " slowly a smirk crept onto Arsenio's face, "of course, I wouldn't say no to more strong men to save me if I find myself in trouble."

Nero sighed in tired frustration, risked a glance at Fenris to see that he appeared to be controlling some rage aimed at Arsenio, and stood. " I suppose I could go, I'm more likely to get money out there than I am to get any here."

Fenris looked at his cards, then shifted his gaze to the dwarf beside him at the head of the table. Varric gave him a sympathetic nod and took the cards from him. When Fenris stood, so did Isabela and the two of them joined the others as they waved to Varric and headed out.

"Dammit, and I was so hoping that I would be able to get away from doing any real work today." Varric muttered to himself.


	16. Chapter 16

"So, are you and Hawke an Item now?" Isabela asked Arsenio.

He chuckled, "we are having fun, no more, no less."

"Interesting."

"You're writing a story about this, aren't you?" Hawke questioned.

Isabela laughed, "wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well, I'm on top, don't get that detail wrong."

"Yes, ser!" Isabela giggled.

"Good lord." Nero grumbled.

"Whats wrong, my dear, Nero?" Isabela placed an arm around his shoulders,forcing him to shuffle along awkwardly.

"I can't remember why I came out here in the first place anymore." He hated the blood mage with a passion, and Hawke would have been more than able to deal with the small group of bandits they had come across himself.

"Me neither. If I had that in my bed I wouldn't be here." She smirked, motioning to where Fenris was, surprisingly, walking with Merril.

"Tampering around in mud all day, how do the Dalish do it?" Fenris was grumbling.

"Do you like the crowded cities better?" Merrill asked cheerfully.

"It's a smell I'm more familiar with, yes."

"You know. As angry a person as you are, you don't swear very much."

"What?"

Nero burst out laughing, "no? He swears like a sailor, no offense Isabela, he's just doing it in a language you don't understand."

"I'm not that bad." Fenris scowled

"How many times a day do you say venhedis, or merda? You would make a rage demon blush with the things you say when we're alone, especially-"

"Okay, you've made your point."

After that, several moments passed in silence before Fenris realized that Merril had kept her eyes on him. Irritated, he demanded to know why she was watching him.

"You have vallaslin." She said "The same markings that the Dalish have."

"Yours are not made of lyrium." He grumbled

"No, they're made of blood. Our blood. That's what vallaslin means: blood writing. It's a mark of adulthood." Merril explained. Nero, overhearing the conversation, couldn't stop himself from shivering, ew.

"Mine were carved into my flesh against my will, in a ritual I remember only for the agony it caused me." was Fenris' sharp reply.

'"I'm... so sorry." she said sadly.

"I don't want your pity."

"I only meant—"

"You have all the freedom none of our kind enjoy, and you throw it away. On what?" Fenris snarled.

"Our people need to reclaim their heritage."

"A heritage of defeat? To what end?"

"Would you truly turn your back on your own history? There's so much we don't know..."

"It's not my history. It's simply history. "

"And history books are terribly boring." Hawke interjected, before slinging his arm around one of Fenris' and pulling him away from Merrill, "so Fenris, it's been a while, how goes it?"

"Uh..."Fenris frowned, slowly adjusting to the new conversation, "it's fine."

"Good to hear." Hawke released the elf's arm now that they were a decent distance away from the others and lowered his voice, "I haven't...taken the opportunity to apologize for how I acted the other day. I'm not sure what took over me, but I was being inconsiderate and obnoxious and I'm sorry if I insulted or hurt you."

"Oh," Fenris stopped walking, quite surprised that Hawke would actually apologize to him. Hawke was many things, but admitting his faults was not one of his strong points. The fact that he was offering an apology was a testament to how bad he felt "It's fine...apology accepted."

Hawke tilted his head at the elf, "huh, I thought it would take much more convincing than that."

Fenris chuckled, "I'm sorry?"

Hawke laughed, "don't be," he turned around and began walking again. He waited for Fenris to begin walking beside him before he spoke again "we haven't spoke much since you've come back."

"No, we haven' its...its been awkward between us."

"It has, hasn't it...I didn't know, I didn't realize...when we...you know, I didn't think about how you might feel about it...I should have asked...I should have...I don't know...it shouldn't have happened." Hawke sighed loudly, rubbing his hands through his hair.

"Its done now...it's in the past, I'm over it." was all Fenris could think of to say.

"Good, that's good." Hawke said, his brows still furrowed.

"Hawke, Merril! We're here now." Isabela called from the head of the group.

...

When they arrived at the camp Hawke and Merril asked the Keeper for the Arulin'Holm, or rather, Merrill invoked vir sulevanan, the entitlement of the Dalish to a property of their people for an errand they must perform, if they do a task for the Dalish in turn. The keeper agreed even though she disapproved and told them that she would give the Arulin'Holm to Merrill if she slayed the varterral that had taken three hunters of the clan.

And so they were approaching the cave that the Varterral lived in. They had left Nero and Arsenio at the camp, as Arsenio did not need to face the varterral with them and somebody needed to stay with him, so Nero was volunteered, much to his displeasure.

"So...what exactly is a Varterral?" Isabela asked.

As they slowly approached the cave, Merrill told the story as she heard it when she was younger, "In the days before Arlathan, there was a city in the mountains beloved by Dirthamen; the Keeper of Secrets. The city's people were wise beyond measure, thanks to his counsel, and the city flourished.

"Then a high dragon settled in the mountains, and her hunger threatened the city. The elders cried out to Dirthamen for protection as the dragon's rampages struck ever closer, and for three days and nights, the people shut themselves in their homes and watched the skies in dread.

"On the fourth day, Dirthamen heard them. He whispered into the mountains and the fallen trees of the forest gathered, shaping an immense and agile spider-like beast. It was the varterral. With lightning speed, vicious strikes, and venomous spit, it drove back the serpent. From then on, it was the guardian of the city and its people."

"Oh...wonderful...why is one in the mountain? And why do we have to kill it?" Hawke asked.

"Its there because that is where the city was. The varterral stayed to protect the people and any elvhen artifacts and treasure that the people placed in its care. It used to let us come and go as we pleased, something must have angered it."

"Joy of joys." Fenris muttered.

Hawke poked the elf in the side with his elbow, "hey now, she said treasure. Who doesn't want to steal some treasure from an angry tree, spider...thing?"

Fenris snorted but smiled anyway. His smile, however disappeared when they entered the cave and found themselves faced with an angry mob of corpses. He sighed heavily and unsheathed his sword before silently launching himself into the fray, killing several of them as he rushed forward. He swung his sword in an arch around himself gracefully and jumped forward to crush one that was advancing behind Hawke.

Hawke, however, sensed the movement behind him and swung around, sword first and ended up hitting Fenris' blade with his own with a loud clank. Once he realized what happened he barked out a laugh and Fenris smiled before heading Isabela's way, to kill some of the corpses that were slowly overwhelming her. Hawke noticed that Merrill was in a similar situation as Isabela and headed her way to help her out.

When the corpses stopped getting up from the ground they relaxed and re-sheathed their weapons.

"So, Merrill, do varterral's have a habit of raising the dead?" Hawke asked.

Merrill shook her head, "no, it's something to do with these mountains. The dead are ill at ease all over Sundermount. We do not know why."

"Excellent." was all Hawke said before he turned and continued further into the caverns.

Isabela watched as Merrill knelt down by a rather fleshy corpse and pulled an amulet from around its next, "Radha, Falon'Din guide you, lethallin." Merrill whispered.

Merrill looked up as Isabela approached her and sniffed, "we didn't know each other well, but he did not deserve to die in here."

"Nobody does, kitten." was Isabela's reply before she wrapped her arm around Merrill's shoulders and trailed after Hawke and Fenris.

Isabela's comforting gesture didn't serve to last long however, as they quickly found themselves set upon by giant spiders. Isabela jumped forward to drive her daggers into the creature's face but heard a high-pitched shriek from behind her. Looking back she found Merrill encased in thick, sticky webbing. A black spider, with two red stripes on its abdomen advanced on the defenseless elf and Isabela rushed froward to kill it, her daggers gracefully tore through it's abdomen exposing it's insides and it dropped dead.

Isabela glanced at where Fenris and Hawke were hacking away at some more spiders but, after judging that they were doing well, she focused her attentions on pulling the webbing off of Merril.

After Merril was free and the remaining spiders were dealt with they headed down a set of stairs, where they found another of Merrill's clansmen and a door that wouldn't open.

"Why did this happen? Oh, Harshal, I"m so sorry. I'll tell Irenia for you." Merrill said, choking back her tears.

"Hey, Isabela, care to open this chest?" Hawke asked, tapping his boot against the chest he was speaking of.

"You're such a slave-driver." Isabela winked and set about opening the lock

"So, Merrill..."Hawke said, in an attempt to divert her thoughts from her fallen friend, "if this varterral is made of wood...can't we just light it on fire and be done with it?"

"What?" Merrill sniffed, "oh, no. It would probably just put it out, wouldn't it? With its spit, I mean, I doubt it can poison itself."

"Done." Isabela said, straightening, "and we have a few coins, a rusty necklace...and a bunch of feathers?" She offered the latter to Fenris, "want them?"

"Why would I want feathers?" he questioned.

"I don't know, maybe replace your metal feathers with real ones?"

"I think that might defeat the purpose."

Isabela shrugged, "maybe I'll stab Anders' coat with them then."

"Or you could just stab Anders." Fenris muttered.

They went back to the area that they had killed the spiders just moments before, but they didn't get far before Hawke saw a flash of green topped with orange disappear behind a doorway,

"Whoever is hiding, feel free to come out. Unless you're a dragon. Then feel free to keep hiding." He said with a smirk.

"Hello?" the hesitant voice said before the elf stepped out of hiding, "thank andrast-I mean, the creators. I thought I would never get out of-Merrill?"

Merrill smiled and did a small bow, "Aneth ara, Pol. Are you hurt?"

A look of terror marred Pol's features and he backed away saying, "Stay back! What do you want from me?"

Worried and confused, Merril approached him, "Pol, whats wrong? I'm here to help."

"No, stay back! Don't touch me!"

"Merril couldn't hurt you if she tried, at worst she might make a frowny face." Hawke said.

"She'll do more than hurt me!" Pol cried, "Don't you know what she is? Creators help me! Someone, please!" The frightened elf turned and ran in the opposite direction, away from them.

"Pol, no! We have to catch him, hurry!" Merril said before giving chase.

Hawke, Fenris and Isabela followed, they descended two flights of stairs and passed a patch of deep mushrooms before they found themselves in a large open space inside of the cavern. Pol was on the other side and only turned around when they entered and Merril yelled to him, but then the varterral jumped down from the ceiling.

The elvhen beast killed Pol before the others had time to react, then the next several minutes were spent in a flurry of blades and avoiding venemous spit and spells, and killing several spiders that decided to make an appearance. The varterral was slain surprisingly quickly, to everyone's relief, and it wasn't till Hawke grabbed Fenris to help him search the cavern for valuables that Merril caught sight of Pol's body.

She fell to her knees beside it, "Pol? Maybe it's not too late. Maybe if we take him back to Anders..."

"Merril..." Isabela knelt beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her back.

Her body shook with tears for several minutes. Hawke and Fenris had concluded their search, having found quite a few shiny and valuable things, and were standing by, waiting awkwardly for a sign that Merril was ready to leave.

"I'm so much better at killing than comforting." Hawke muttered.

Fenris grunted quietly in response. Isabela saw that they were waiting and said something quietly to Merril before they both stood up and retraced their steps to leave the cavern. Merril sniffled frequently, and relied on Isabela to keep her standing.

"Pol, what was he thinking? He acted like I was a monster." she muttered sadly.

"You are a monster." Fenris told her.

"You aren't helping" Isabela snapped.

"Good."

...

Back at the Dalish camp Nero and Arsenio were seated at an otherwise vacant campfire and being eyed warily by the elves. Nero was aimlessly poking at the fire with a stick and Arsenio was looking about curiously. He had tried to engage a few of the elves in conversation, but had either been insulted or ignored.

"Are the Dalish everything you thought they would be?" Nero asked, his irritation at being left behind seeping into his voice.

"They haven't killed us yet, so that's something." Arsenio chuckled, "the stories do say that they kill outsiders on sight. But then the stories also say they bathe in blood and pray to the moon, but I can't say I've seen any sign of that."

"It's only early yet."

"Too true, my friend, too true."

"You do realize that Esperance was Dalish, don't you? This isn't the first time you've met them."

"I wanted to see the clan, Nero. Besides, Esperance was more Magister than Dale. And I barely ever saw her."

"Lucky you"

"Oh look, they're back. And all of them still live, that's always good." Arsenio said cheerfully.

Nero glanced up to see Hawke and Merrill talking to Marethari and Fenris and Isabela striding towards them tiredly.

"How was it?" He asked as they found spots around the fire.

"That thing was fucked up. This is why I like the ocean, you don't get tree monsters with poisonous spit when you're in the middle of the ocean." Isabela grumbled.

"Venomous." Fenris corrected.

"What?"

"It was venomous spit, not poisonous. You would have to ingest it for it to be poisonous, if it's venomous it can cause damage just by making contact with your skin." the elf explained.

"Where the void did you learn that?" Isabela asked irritably.

"I read it somewhere." Fenris said, with a shrug. Only Nero noticed his small smile of pride.


	17. Chapter 17

A few more weeks passed quietly. Arsenio had begun to spend more time in the mansion without Hawke, but he spent most of his time alone in his room. Nero had begun to wonder just why the man was still there if he had no intention of spending time with anyone, and was on his way to his room to ask when Hawke barged in. He had decided to ask if they wanted to go to the beach, and at the same time help him do a request he had found on the Chanter's Board, and wanted Fenris and Nero to come along. Luckily it was a nice day to go trekking to the wounded coast, and Fenris, Nero, Hawke, Anders, Isabela, Sebastian and Varric were glad for the chilly breeze that offset the hot sun that was beating down on them.

"What do you plan on doing with these apostates when you find them?" Anders demanded to know.

Hawke scratched the back of his head, "that depends, if they attack me, I'll kill them. If they're doing blood magic, I'll kill them. Otherwise...well, I am being paid to bring them back to the templars, Anders."

"You can't-"

"Maybe we'll make you go with them." Fenris interrupted.

Anders' face flushed with anger and he turned towards the elf, to let him know just what he thought of that idea when he was interrupted by somebody else.

"Stop right there! You are in possession of stolen property." An armored man said from atop a rock that lead upwards onto a large hill. He was flanked by another armored man and a mage, and as he spoke several more armored men approached on the path ahead of them.

Fenris crouched, ready to fight, and growled, "hunters."

"I was wondering where they had been." Nero muttered as he unsheathed his weapons.

"Back away from the slaves now and you will be spared." The man said to the others.

"All here are free men!" Hawke said.

"I wont repeat myself! Back away from the slaves now!"

"I am not your slave!" Fenris shouted forcefully before charging the group on the path ahead of them, ending their lives quickly.

Nero snarled and tossed his knife at the man that had spoken, cursing when the blade landed in the man's bicep, not his throat. Quickly he skirted around the outcropping and made to plunge a blade into the mages chest when said mage erected a shield around himself. He had erected it barely in time, however, and Nero's blade ended up getting caught in it, he tried to pull it free, but it was frozen in the shimmering blue, force-field. Swearing he spun and slashed at the man with his knife in his arm. He then spent the next few minutes deflecting blow after blow with one dagger as the man tried to overwhelm him, he felt the blade slice across the back of his hand and almost dropped his weapon before he felt a warm sensation and the pain was taken away. Thank the maker for Anders, he thought.

Suddenly he had no more blows to deflect as a blue shape blurred past him, taking his attacker down. He watched as the man's head rolled over the edge of the outcropping and turned to watch as Fenris took down the last man. The glow died down and the elf sheathed his weapon before turning around. When he did he caught sight of the mage that Nero had been after, trying to crawl away.

He grabbed the mage by the hair and snarled, "Where. Is. He?"

"Please," the man begged, "don't kill me."

Fenris smacked his head against the ground before saying, "tell me!"

"I don't know, I swear," the mage pleaded, "Hadriana brought us, she's at the holding caves north of the city. I can show you the way."

"No need." Fenris said harshly, "I know the ones you speak of."

"Then let me go, I-"

"What in the world would make you think we would do that?" Nero asked.

"You chose the wrong master." Fenris snarled before phasing his hand into the mans chest and crushing his heart.

Getting up he shook the blood from his hand and paced quickly.

"Hadriana," He hissed, "I was a fool to think I was free, they'll never let me be!"

"This is someone you know?" Hawke asked.

"My old master's apprentice." Fenris replied, disgust and hatred dripping from his voice, "I remember her well. A sniveling social climber that would sell her own children if she thought it would please Denarius. If she is here it is at his bidding," he snarled and clenched his fists, "I knew he wouldn't let this go."

"Then let us go to these caves."

"The holding caves held slaves in the old times, apparently they are no longer abandoned, we must go quickly, before Hadriana has chance to prepare, or flee."

"Of course," Hawke said, "the apostates can wait, this needs to be seen to now." he turned to the others, "are you lot coming, or do you wish to head back to the city?"

"Of course, I would see my friend's ghosts vanquished." Sebastian nodded.

"Caves usually hold treasures, right? I wouldn't miss it for the world." Isabela smirked.

"And miss out on first hand experience of a good story, what kind of a person do you take me for?" Varric chuckled.

Anders hesitated, he had no desire to assist the elf. But there will be blood mages, they must be stopped. Slavery is an atrocity, they should meet their end. Justice said. With a shrug Anders nodded his consent, and the group headed back to skirt around the city.

...

The sun was getting low in the sky by the time they arrived at the caverns. They knew they were at the right ones, judging by the large group of mercenaries and hunters guarding the outside of it.

The fight was quick and they stood around for a few moments, waiting to see if other hunters would show up and to give Sebastian and Varric time to pick the locks on their respective chests. During that time Fenris spoke to Hawke about the holding caves, and Nero listened in. Having not spent any time out of Tevinter prior to his escape he did not know anything about holding caves, and found them...curious.

"We must be careful." Fenris was saying, "there were many such holdings once. Especially in the mountains where individual slavers kept private pens. They were designed to protect against raids by fellow slavers. No doubt its why Hadriana chose this place."

"Do slavers attack each other often?" Hawke asked.

"They did. What better way to find slaves than to steal them? The holding caves outside of Tevinter have mostly been abandoned, but they still exist."

"Hadriana wont escape us." Hawke assured the elf when Sebastian and Varric joined them, a couple of mana potions, a health poultice and an injury kit in hand.

"Lets hope this isn't a waste of time." Fenris said, motioning for the others to enter the caves.

When they entered they found themselves in a very dwarven structure. The place was made of pillars and flat stone, and along some of the paths were flowing pools of lava, which made the place warm and stuffy. Fenris lead them down the hallway, which opened into a large room, with what Nero recognized as a sacrifice laying on a table in the center of it.

"See for yourselves," Fenris said, "the legacy of the magisters."

Nero wrinkled his nose at the stench of death emanating from the table as they made their way past it, "I can't say I missed it."

"Neither can I."

It was after their fight with a small group of corpses that Nero realized that he was feeling edgy. Unsurprising, really, considering where they were. He had an uneasy feeling that things were going to go terribly wrong, and there would be nothing he could do to fix it. He felt enclosed by the dwarven structure, as well. That was one thing, of many, that he had discovered in the Deep Roads. Dwarves had a way of altering the rock that made it very nearly impossible to get contact with anything living, his connection to the essence, the river, was useless down here. He almost felt powerless, and the sure weight of the blades in his hands did little to calm his nerves.

"You know, there are a surprisingly small amount of corpses down here...I know we just killed a bunch of them, but I would have expected...more." Isabela said.

"We have not gotten all the way in, yet." Fenris told her.

"Yes but, the way you talk about the magisters, I expected shades and demons everywhere. We haven't even seen any of those yet."

"When we find them, I'm blaming you." Nero narrowed his eyes at her.

A couple more groups of hunters slain and they found themselves in a large room facing some more. The only difference this time was that there was an elf at the other end of the room, a girl, and the slavers were crowded around her, hunger and lust in their eyes.

"Hey!" Nero yelled, to get their attention.

His shout served its purpose and it wasn't long before the group was running to them, weapons drawn, yelling threats and taunts.

Twirling his blades in his hands Nero waited for them to reach him. When one did he shot into action, his daggers a blur as they flew through the air, slashing and slicing into the hunters with ease. He had taken down three when he felt the pull of magic at his back. Glancing behind him he saw a large blue orb floating in the middle of the fray, it appeared to be sucking everything towards itself. Recognizing the spell he struggled to run away from it, but it was like wading through mud and his limbs moved in slow motion, despite his need to go faster.

Glancing around him he was relieved to see that everyone else seemed to have gotten themselves a safe distance from the orb. His eyes rested on Fenris, who made a move towards him, concern clouding over the anger on his features, when the ball exploded. Nero was sent flying through the air and collided with the wall, hard. He thought he heard a crack but wasn't sure if it was something breaking, or if he only heard it because he expected to. He was more concerned with the lack of air he seemed to have, but this too was quickly shot from his mind as he fell, shoulder first, to the floor.

Dazed he lay on his side, barely aware that he felt pain in his shoulder and forearm, as the others fought the mage and hunters that remained. Before he knew what was going on Anders was at his side, hands pouring blue healing magic into him, and he was finally able to see properly.

He blinked at Anders slowly, "ow." he said.

Anders laughed, "try not to get caught in one of those again, would you? Healing broken bones is difficult. Luckily you had only fractured your forearm and dislocated your shoulder."

"Thanks, what would I do without you?"

"Die, probably."

"He better not, mage." Fenris said as he approached them.

Anders rolled his eyes, and got up without replying, so Nero said, "I'm fine."

"Good." Fenris said as he helped Nero to his feet, "now we have the small matter of..."

"Ah, yes. The elf," Nero glanced at Fenris, "the helpless elf, that is."

The group slowly gathered itself, Anders seeing to the injured in turn, and approached the young blond woman.

"Are you hurt? Did they touch you?" Fenris asked.

"They've been killing everyone," she trembled. "they cut papa, bled him."

"Why, why would they do this?" Fenris asked, knowing the answer already.

"The magister's, they said they needed power. That someone was coming to kill them."

Fenris looked to the ground, disgusted and ashamed that it was because of him that this girls father was murdered. I should have waited. She would have sought me out in Hightown if I had not come here. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nero shift his weight and scowled at the ground, venhedis, that wouldn't have worked either.

"We tried to be good." the girl continued, "we did everything we were told. They loved papa's soup, I don't understand."

"This has been terrible for you." Hawke said sadly.

"Everything was fine until today!"

"It wasn't. You just didn't know any better." Fenris said quietly.

"Are you my master now?" she asked hopefully.

"What?" Fenris head snapped up and threw his hands out in front of him, "No!"

"But I can cook. I can clean. What else will I do?"

"If you go to Kirkwall, I can help you." Hawke said

"Yes?Oh, praise the maker, thank you." she said before running off.

Nero furrowed his brow and watched her leave, "how does she even know where to go?" he wondered.

Meanwhile Fenris turned towards Hawke, "I didn't realize you were on the market for a slave." he snapped.

Hawke sighed, "I gave her a job, Fenris."

"Ah, then, that's good. My apologies. Let's find Hadriana and be done with this place."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Nero's last comment? I find myself wondering that every time I play it.


	18. Chapter 18

They found themselves in a room with a long table in the middle of it. Atop the table were various alchemy supplies and books, a chest stood at one end and at the other-

"Arsenio?" Nero asked.

A malicious grin spread across the man's face and he chuckled, "Indeed."

"What are you-?"

"He is here at my bidding. I'm quite surprised you had not figured it out yet. No matter." A waif of a woman said as she approached from a hole in the wall, one that clearly lead to a recently made passage.

Nero tensed so hard he was sure he would have thrown up if he wasn't so shocked. Her hair was longer, and she seemed a bit thinner, but she wore the same revealing gold and red robes that she used to and spoke with the same air of someone who thought themselves above the life they were stuck with.

"Oh good, you haven't forgotten me then." She smiled when she noticed him stiffen. Her smile turned to a frown when his companions readied their weapons, however. "No need for that," she said, "I am only here to talk...for now."

"Who are you?" Fenris growled.

"Nero did not speak of me? How sad. I suppose he did not expect to find me here. I told Hadriana to stop her men from searching for you in the woods. They are so dimwitted sometimes, I knew they would do something stupid and you would find out where we were. I am Esperance. And you must be Fenris, the markings to give you away. You were so much younger last we met." She giggled at the last bit.

"Where is Hadriana?" Fenris demanded.

"About and around, I assure you. Go after her if you wish, I am only here for Nero."

"You will not have him!" Fenris yelled, raising his weapon. He was stopped short, however, when she waved a hand at him and he froze.

"You will not stop me. I am his mother, it is not right that he has been taken from me-"

"Nobody took me, I left of my own free will." Nero snarled, his muscles had stopped tensing, and now he was flexing them in an effort to ease the stiffness.

"Free will, where did you find it, I often find myself wondering." She paced behind the table, keeping it like a barrier between her and them, "I think maybe he helped instil the seed in you, luckily I fixed him." She said, motioning towards where Arsenio had stood by quietly.

Hawke glanced at the man before returning his gaze to Esperence, "what did you do to him?"

Esperance laughed, the voice filling the chamber, "that is hardly your concern. But, for future reference, if you ever wish to possess someone, enthralling them is a wonderful method. At least, provided the demon involved has some ability to alter a human's mental state."

"He's...an abomination?" Hawke asked incredulously, as he gaped at Arsenio.

"No, I should have been able to tell..." Anders muttered, shaking his head.

"Of course, he may not look like the twisted creatures that they often look like, but he is an abomination, as you put it. Oh I do love enlightening others with my work. You see, the demon must not seek to physically control the body, simply to guide the human host in his decisions and manipulate him."

Nero looked at the smirking man sadly, "but I thought...he said he was sent back to Antiva..."

"Don't be stupid, Nero. Why would I go through the effort to kidnap someone if I did not wish to keep them. Arsenio has served a wonderful tool."

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because he is the only one who could get close to you, the only person I knew you could trust. Don't be fooled though, he is possessed but he is mostly himself, he lied to you of his own free will. Over the years the demon has not needed to persuade Arsenio to do my bidding as much, and most of the time, you are speaking to Arsenio. He's a twisted little man, aren't you, my Arsenio." She laughed and stopped her slow pacing and turned to face the group, "It is very inconvenient that you have arrived here now. We had a fabulous little plan, Hadriana and I.

"Oh but I will start at the beginning. Why not? I had heard that you were in Kirkwall and sent Arsenio to scout you out, and to alert me when he found where you were staying. Which he did fabulously. He also informed me that there was an elf with lyrium markings with you. Quiet the surprise, that was. I contacted Hadriana, as I...owed her a favor, and we traveled here together.

"You see, Arsenio was going to put a sleeping drought in your drinking supply, wine I believe he said, and after you and the elf were passed out our men were going to bring you out here and we were going to head back to Tevinter, with you back in chains and collared, as you should be."

As she spoke he tried to fit the pieces together in his head, and watched with horror as they all fell into place. He turned to Hawke angrily, "did you know?" he demanded

Hawke put his hands up in defense and shook his head, "no, I had no idea."

"He was nothing more than a good fuck, Nero. Since you were so adamant about not sharing your bed with me again." Arsenio told him, tiredly.

"We've spoken long enough," Esperance said, motioning for several men to come out of hiding with chains and shackles in their hands, "the elf and that one. kill the rest if you wish."

Nero barked a laugh, "you think I'm going to go without a fight?" He threw the knife from his belt at her, but it bounced off an invisible barrier and clattered to the ground.

She turned and headed back to the tunnel, and he made to go after her but was stopped by a shade appearing in front of him. Trying not to halt his stride he sliced the shade from top to bottom, and almost made it to the tunnel before he was tackled to the ground.

As he fell his head bounced off of the ground and he was dazed. Even so he tried to get an appropriate grip on his blades, so he could stab the bastard sitting on top of him. When his eyes focused he realized it was none other than Arsenio sitting on his chest, his knees pinning Nero's arms to the ground by the elbows. He stopped struggling and looked up into Arsenio's eyes and searched frantically for some sign of the man he once knew.

"Why?" he whispered, "why would you do this to me? I trusted you."

Arsenio shrugged his shoulders but did not look away, "It's what she wants."

Unable to look at Arsenio any longer he turned his head to the side, only to catch site of a shade sinking one of it's claws into Fenris' back while he was preoccupied fighting one of the men that were told to chain them. The elf hollered out when he was struck, but instead of falling he let out a blast of energy; the shade disappeared and the man flew backwards.

Snarling, Nero turned back to face Arsenio, gathering the essence within himself and calling on some around him, "you prick. I might have let you live if you hadn't brought Fenris into this."

Arsenio chuckled, but before he had the chance to speak he was thrown off of Nero by the force of the essence as he released it. He flew across the room, falling on a slave hunter. Quickly Nero stood and made his way over to the man, he picked him up by the collar of his shirt and hissed, "non suis manibus mortis, considerare te felix." [you do not deserve to die by my hands, consider yourself lucky.] before plunging his dagger through his abdomen and upwards, into his lungs and heart.

He watched the man cough and spit up blood for a moment before pulling his dagger free and letting Arsenio crumple to the ground. He turned to find the others watching him, the battle apparently over. He glanced at the tunnel and flicked his hand to try and rid it of Arsenio's blood.

"I'm going after Esperance, I would appreciate help." he said, "Fenris, you should go after Hadriana. She is here somewhere. Afterwords we should meet at the mouth of the cave."

"I'll come with you, Nero." Anders offered.

"Can't let you two go alone, I guess I'll come along." Varric said, hefting Bianca onto his shoulder.

Nero eyed his friends thankfully, and nodded in gratitude. They headed towards the tunnel entrance and Sebastian, Isabela, and Hawke stood by the door that they had entered the room through, leaving Fenris and Nero alone in the middle.

Nero said "are you alright? I saw a shade-"

"The mage healed me." Fenris spat with disgust.

"Damn him, then. Just...crush the bitches heart."

Fenris gave him an evil smile, "oh, it will be done."

...

"So...I think it's safe to say she got away." Varric said carefully.

"Venhedis!" Nero hissed.

"Is this, good lord, its another phylactery. Yours, I imagine" Anders said, showing the small vial of blood to the others.

"That explains how they knew we were coming then."

Nero paced as much as he could in the cramped space of the tunnel. They were in a junction with three passageways, one of which had a breeze coming from it, and crashing waves could faintly be heard.

With an angry sigh Nero stopped pacing and faced the direction that promised an exit onto a beach, "we should just leave. She probably already did, this was a waste of time."

"We could find out where she went, and go after her." Anders offered.

Nero shook his head and lead them outside, "no, if she wants me she'll come and find me again. In Tevinter she'll have other magisters with her, I would rather not face a group of them at once. I imagine it'll be a while before she tries again..since her plan didn't work and her...tool is dead."

"I'm...sorry." Anders said.

"Don't be, you couldn't have known."

"I know, but I feel as though I should have, I should have sensed something.."

"How often were you even around him?" Nero smiled dryly, "don't beat yourself up about it."

"Andraste's tits I suck at this, I'm trying to comfort you, and instead your comforting me."

Varric and Nero laughed.

...

After exiting the tunnels they headed the general direction they thought the entrance to the cave would be. When they found it they came across Hawke leaning against the stone wall and Sebastian and Isabela bickering about what was better, bows or daggers.

"You are less likely to get stabbed when you shoot the target over a distance. Bows are good for that." Sebastian was saying.

"And they offer no protection when you are faced with an opponent less than a foot in front of you, you can't-"

"Hawke, the others are here." Sebastian said, cutting Isabela off.

Hawke looked up and met Nero halfway, "how did it go? did you find her?"

Nero shook his head sadly, "there was an exit leading to the beach, she probably got on a boat and left...or got on a horse and ran. Either way, we did not find her."

"Shit, I'm-"

"Where is...Fenris?" Nero asked, controlling a rise of panic. What if Hadriana had gotten him? They had to go after the witch, right now!

"He's alive...Kirkwall, most probably. He sort of yelled at me, after killing Hadriana, and then stormed out. I like my heart in my chest, so I thought better of following him." Hawke explained.

"What? Are you a fucking dense? Esperance is out there! What if she found him while he was alone and-"

Hawke interrupted the tirade before it could truly begin, "Nero, Fenris can handle himself. He has for years without either of us. I did not see the need to follow him. Let's go back to Kirkwall, he's probably back at the mansion. Getting piss loaded-"

"I hope not, didn't that woman say that Arsenio was going to drug the wine?" Isabela asked.


	19. Chapter 19

"He isn't here, Hawke."

"I see that." Hawke replied, "Nero, calm down. He was angry, very angry in the caves. He is probably avoiding people becuase he doesn't want to kill anybody he actually likes. Let him have his time, you weren't there."

"I was almost sure he was going to turn into a rage demon and we would have to kill him." Isabela added.

Nero sighed loudly and began a slow pace in front of the two. The trek back to Kirkwall hadn't taken very long but it was still night by the time they got back. Anders had gone home, Varric had gone to the hanged man and Sebastian had gone back to the chantry. Hawke and Isabela had followed Nero home, trying to assure him that Fenris was, in fact, alive; just angry and hiding somewhere.

"Just...don't leave the mansion, Sebastian already said that he would let you know if he saw Fenris and i'm sure Isabela will do the same. I'm heading home as well, i doubt he'll come to my place, but if he does i'll send Bodahn over to let you know, I promise."

Nero stopped pacing and let out the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding, "alright...I'm sorry, I just...it's my fault Hadriana even knew where he was. If something happens, then it's my fault and - nevermind."

Hawke, thinking about Carver and Bethany in the Deep Roads, nodded solemnly and placed a reassuring hand on Nero's shoulder before bidding him farewell and leading Isabela out of the estate.

Nero cleaned himself up a bit and changed to cleaner clothes before grabbing a bottle of wine, and a glass and sat in a chair in front of a fire in the main hall to wait for some news. A part of him hoped that the wine was drugged, at least if he fell to a coma he wouldn't have to wait. He would just wake up eventually and someone would tell him what was going on and that would be that.

He sat staring blankly into the fire, dangling the glass between his fingers over the arm of the chair that he was slouched in. Slowly his mind began to process what had happened in the caverns, what was said and how he reacted to it. Oh Maker...his eyes began to burn and he felt a tightness in his chest that made him want to fold in on himself. His grip tightened on the glass in his hand subconciously, and he sat up straighter, in an attempt to ease the pain, even though it was emotional.

He had killed the first person he ever... he had killed Arsenio, he had killed the man despite it being his own fault that Arsenio was in the position he was in in the first place. If he had not been made, if he had not failed so miserably with his frist client, then they never would have kidnapped Arsenio and turned him into a slave. If he had not allowed them to take Arsenio away, if he had only done something when they did. He could have killed them all, he should have, then Arsenio wouldn't have become...possessed and twisted. Esperance shouldn't have been able to do that to him, Nero had the power to stop it, but he didn't. He was no worse than her.

Nero threw his glass of wine into the mantle and put his head in his hands, barely aware of the sizzling sound the wine made when it fell in the fire.

Even if he hadn't stopped them from taking Arsenio, surely they couldn't have twisted the man so badly. The Arsenio he remembered never would have lied to someone he cared about just because someone else wanted him to. He felt himself above such things, he even admitted to rarely lying for a client. Nero had envied him that, the ability to decide how to act and what to say with a client, he never had the luxury. If they wanted him on his knees, he got on his knees, if they wanted him to pretend he was thier wife's brother or sister, he pretended. If he didn't, he got punished.

But Arsenio betrayed you, he told himself, the entire time he had been a guest in your house was a lie. Sure, he was acting peculiar and was different from the man that Nero knew, but Nero hadn't seen him in ten years, of course he would be different.

He closed his eyes, and a few drops fell into his lap.

Despite everything else, despite knowing that Arsenio was mostly the way he was because of Esperance, it still tore him apart to find out that Arsenio had been ready to turn him over to the witch. The past few weeks Arsenio had been annoying at times, and awkwrad at others, but Nero had still trusted him, and that trust had been corrupted and turned back on him as if to tear his entire life apart.

It felt as though his eyeballs were on fire, and a cold fist was in his chest, the chill slowly seeping out to his limbs, so that he didnt even want to move.

And Esperance...he needed to kill her. There was no way around it anymore. Torturing him and corrupting Arsenio was one thing, but going after Fenris was entirely another. He was not accustumed to having what he wanted, so having Fenris was...indescribable. That she would take that away from him...he would have her head for daring to think the thought. He would thank her for giving Fenris the opportunity to kill Hadriana, then he would watch as he tore her to pieces with the very power she made him for.

Nero didn't even try to fight the guilt that washed over him at the thought that Denarius now knew where Fernis was because of Esperance, because of him. It was like a black smog enveloping him, and he hated it, but he could not deny it. He endangered Fenris, something he had been too blind and too content to see. Every moment they spent together they threatened each other's freedom. But still, Nero thought, I would sacrifice my freedom so long as I could remain at his side...

It was with these thoughts bombarding his concious that he fell asleep in the armchair, the fire dying in front of him, and a chill in his bones.

...

Nero did not sleep well, in fact he spent most of the night in a half-daze where he was asleep, but not. Because of this state he was unaware of his surroundings and was sure that he nearly had a heart attack when someone began knocking, loudly, on his door.

He jumped and winced at dawn's sunlight streaming into the room. His vision was blurry, and he licked his fingers before rubbing them along his bottom lids, so that he could see clearly. He felt dehydrated, despite not drinking much wine the night before, and tried desperatly to wet his lips before he got to the door so that they wouldn't split when he spoke.

Glancing out the window beside the door he frowned with confusion and opened it, shivering in the early morning chill.

"Uh...Bodahn, was it?" He asked, wincing as, sure enough, his lip split right along his scar, as it always did when his lips were dry.

"Yes, Messere." the dwarf nodded, "I was sent by Messere Hawke. He has told me to inform you that Messere Fenris is at the Hawke estate as we speak."

Nero frowned, not quite understanding what the dwarf was telling him, "so wait...Fenris just randomly showed up there, this early in the morning?"

Bodahn chuckled, "oh no, he was already there when Messere Hawke arrived home last night. Waited in the library for Messere Hawke to arrive home, he did."

Nero blinked at him several times before the meaning of his words sunk in and he began to get angry, "so, do you know why Hawke waited till now to send you over?" he asked, trying desperatly not to let his mood seep into his voice.

"Uh...no, he dismissed me when I told him Messere Fenris was in the lib-where are you going?"

Fuming Nero spun on his heel and headed back in the mansion to grab his boots and belt and, putting them on, he stormed out of the mansion, slamming the door closed but not bothering to lock it, and headed down the stairs on his way to the Hawke estate.

A nervous Bodahn chased after him, running, whereas Nero was simply walking quickly, "Messere Nero, slow down, I beg of you-"

"Fuck off, Bodahn."

"Messere! There is no need for that, I was just sent to deliver-"

"And you did, and I am going to find out why you were not sent last night, when you should have been."

"Surely there is a reasonable-"

"There fucking better be." he said quietly as he threw the door open and stormed into the main entryway.

Catching sight of the girl they had saved in the slaver den the day before he demanded, "where is he?"

Shaking, and clearly nervous, she pointed upstairs, in the direction of the bedroms. He had no time to feel guilt over scaring her, as his anger got worse and he made his way up the stairs. Over the years there had been plenty of times that he had been sent to fetch Hawke, usually with Aveline, and the man had been sleeping. Hawkes mother, Leandra, often just told them to wake him up, so Nero knew where it was that Hawke slept.

As he approached the door he heard Hawke laugh. Throwing the door open he found a naked Hawke standing at the end of his bed, a small towel wrapped around his waist, and a steaming tub in the corner. He was about to apologize for interrupting his bath when he opened the door more and caught sight of Fenris. The elf wasn't standing very far from Hawke, they were definitly within arms reach of each other, and he had paused in the process of tying his belt on, his hair standing up in odd directions, as it often did after he woke up.

Both Hawke and Fenris stared back at him, stunned by his sudden appearance in Hawke's room. Nero, however was fuming. His skin began to smoke as his anger rose, and he found himself internally chuckling at the perfect timing that Fenris had; why not betray him the same day that the only other man that Nero had ever trusted like that did?

Without realizing he was doing so, Nero let go a pulse of energy at the same time that he hollered, which sent Hawke and Fenris flying backwards. Hawke landed against the wall behind his tub and Fenris ended up hitting the wall above Hawke's desk. When he landed ink, quills, and papers went tumbling to the floor and he quielty groaned with the impact.

Fenris barely had time to catch his breath before the collar of his robe was being grabbed by Nero's fist and he was being slammed back into the wall. He found his vision filled with an obviously angry Nero, his skin had stopped smoking, but his face was twisted by anger. Fenris was fairly certain he saw an indescribable pain in the other man's eyes, but it was so effectively masked by rage that he wasn't sure.

"How dare you do this to me." Nero hissed, "you...just..."

Slowly Nero's grip loosened and the fabric slipped from his hand, letting Fenris sit with all of his weight on the desk, he scrambled for something to say, but he was still so stunned that he couldn't form a coherent thought, much less a word. Nero looked at him sadly, and almost doubled over with the pain of knowing that Fenris had betrayed him, that Fenris had turned from him and couldn't even be bothered to let him know. He never said i was the only one...i should have realized sooner, he realized, we made no commitment to each other, we never even spoke of what this was...i am an idiot.

He took a step back and made to reach for Fenris again, gentler this time, and opened his mouth to speak, before thinking better of it and turning on his heel. Catching sight of Hawke getting to his feet behind the tub he narrowed his eyes and hissed, "you, if I ever see your face again, i will kill you."

And with that he left and, not wanting to go home, he headed to Anders' clinic. It was still early, so Anders hadn't opened the clinic yet, and he jumped when he heard a knock on the door. Expecting a refugee he was quite stunned when he found Nero standing there.

The man looked like hell, as though he hadn't slept at all the night before. He was pale and had dark circles around his eyes. There was also an incredible sadness clinging to every inch of him, and for a moment Anders wondered what could have possibly happened, before realizing that it must be about the day before.

He opened his door and let Nero in without a word, Nero entered and stood quietly in the center of the room while Anders closed and locked the door again. He strode to stand in front of the man and bent down a little to look into his downcast eyes, to try and get his attention. A he did so he remembered that Nero had been very stressed about Fenris, this depression could only mean...

"Nero? What happened to Fenris? Isn't he alright?" He asked

Slowly Nero looked up at him and nodded his head, but then his composure began to crumble and he found himself on his knees, clenching his fists in Anders' jacket, as though to anchor himself to something real, and he began to cry into the mages hip. And Anders, sensing that Nero needed to get it out of his system, let him.


	20. Chapter 20

He had no idea how long he had cried in front of the poor mage. Long enough that he began to feel bad for forcing Anders to comfort him without explaining why he needed comfort.

Anders had settled himself on the floor beside Nero long ago, and it wasn't long after that that Nero's tears dried up, but he remained where he was, hiding his face in Anders shoulder. Deciding it was time to speak he pulled away and crossed his legs, looking down at his feet and absentmindedly picking at the laces of his boots while he spoke.

Nero cleared his throat, sniffed and said "I made a mistake. I never, we never...neither of us clarified what we were to each other. I was a fool to believe that he had limited himself to me."

Anders didn't reply for several minutes, trying to understand, and failing. "What, are you talking about?" he asked gently.

"Fenris, he...It turns out I'm not the only person he is with. And Hawke...he left me at home last night, telling me he would let me know if Fenris showed up at his place, and when he did, Hawke did not let me know, not till this morning."

Anders asked slowly, "how do you know that Fenris arrived at Hawke's estate last night?"

"Bodhan told me."

"So..."Anders said, "you think Fenris is cheating on you. With Hawke?"

"No, not cheating. We never...we should have clarified what we were to each other, I should have brought it up, but I didn't."

"This is...surprising...I may not like him but even I never would have expected him to be like that. He only ever seemed focused on you. Maybe you were right when you said that I didn't know him." Anders said angrily.

"Perhaps neither of us did."

They sat in silence for several more minutes before Anders got up and grabbed a cloth and a cup of water and sat back down, handing them to Nero. Nero nodded gratefully and blew his nose before he took a drink, but he did not speak again.

"Maybe," Anders began, trying to pretend that Fenris was more human than animal, so his theory would make sense, "neither of you broached the subject because you were both slaves. I don't imagine either of you are truly accustomed to asking for things, and the person being asked might feel as though the person asking is trying to lay a claim on them. Which might be construed as ownership, or at least, something similar to it. Whether you realized it or not, it would be a touchy subject."

Nero thought about this for a bit before nodding his agreement, "perhaps" was all he said.

"Do you...plan on going back to the mansion or would you like me to set up a cot here...you could sleep in my room for the day, I'm sure you wouldn't like to see my clients."

Nero nodded, "I am tired..I didn't sleep well last night...maybe I'll sleep better now." he said hopefully.

Probably not, Anders thought before leading Nero to the bedroom and telling him he would be in the clinic all day if he needed him.

...

A week later Anders was beginning to see that Nero needed a change of clothes, but the other man did not seem to have the will, nor the energy to go to the mansion himself. Thus far Nero had spent the entire time in bed and, Anders thought sadly, he was so quiet and...limp, when he was awake. It was during one of the short periods that Nero was eating that Anders broached the subject.

"Nero,"He began cautiously, "I think I should go to the estate, and get some of your things."

Nero started and looked at him blankly for a moment before frowning and saying, "I should leave, I am imposing on you without a thought-"

"No," Anders cut him off, "that's not what I'm getting at. Stay as long as you like, please." he put on his most reassuring smile, "I enjoy the company. I'm just saying if your going to be staying here a while you could use a change of clothes."

Nero stared at his stew for several minutes, face unreadable, before replying "in my nightstand there is a leather purse...would you grab it for me, please?"

Anders frowned, "you don't need to pay me-"

"maybe not, but I will at least help pay for my share of the food."

Anders furrowed his brow and said, "alright...I'll leave now, there are a few things I wanted to purchase today anyway, so I'll be in the area."

It didn't take the mage very long to get ready and make his way to Hightown. He tended to use an underground tunnel that opened up near the Blooming Rose. A passageway that none of his friends knew about, but workers at the Blooming Rose did. It was a frequent occurrence that an employee from the brothel would show up at his place, and they needed a quick route to his clinic, so they opened up the blockage in the passage.

As he traversed the streets of Hightown he noticed, not for the first time, how it's citizens ignored him. Probably because of his ragged clothes; they did mark him as someone from Darktown. And so it was with a sigh that he came upon Nero and Fenris' estate. He took the key Nero had given him and opened the door, closing it silently behind him. He made his way quietly through the mansion and to Nero's room, and It wasn't until he had everything in a bag that he realized he was not the only person in the estate.

"I thought I heard somebody here. I will admit I did not expect to find you." Fenris said from where he was leaning against the door frame, blocking Anders' exit.

Anders sighed, "I'm just here for some of Nero's things, I've got them, so I'm going to leave. Move."

Fenris folded his arms across his chest, irritation evident in his voice, "so he's staying with you, is he? I did not think to look for him there."

"Why are you looking for him, haven't you caused him enough pain? Leave him alone."

Fenris looked at the floor sadly and shifted his feet, "I only wish to explain-"

"Explain? Explain, what?" Anders laughed darkly, "you told him not to be friends with me, and then you go and do this? What the void is wrong with you? Don't pretend like there is a reason you slept with Hawke, while Nero was here, hoping you were still alive, but having no idea of knowing." With that Anders shoved his way past the elf.

Stunned by Anders' words, he made no move to stop him. It was only when Anders was turning the corner at the end of the hall that he said "Mage, wait."

Anders stopped and looked behind him with an eyebrow raised, waiting.

"Is that," Fenris paused, "does he really think that?"

Anders cocked his head to the side, "that's what he told me."

"But...I didn't." Fenris said quietly.

Anders heard him anyway, "tell that to Nero." He said before turning and heading back to his clinic. Leaving Fenris confused and alone in the mansion.

...

It was a week and a half before Nero saw anybody other than Anders. He spent the majority of that time in either the mages bed, or a cot in the clinic at night. He didn't tell Anders, but he had noticed a sleeping drought in his bedroom, on the bottom shelf of the bookcase, covered in a thick layer of dust. And, concluding that Anders clearly wasn't using it, he began to take some whenever he was awake, in an effort to avoid the agonizing thoughts that he could not escape when he was conscious.

There were several times he woke up confused about where he was, and why he was there. Then he would remember in a crushing wave what had happened and try to fall back asleep. He was only thankful that the sleeping drought squashed any memories of the dreams he may be having.

He was experiencing the confusion upon waking up again, and at first he was not filled with anger when he heard Anders and Hawke talking through the curtain that separated Anders' room and the clinic. The anger didn't consume him until he realized what they were talking about.

"-but I think he's scared. He wont come down here to talk to him. I've seen him through my window in the courtyard, obviously on the way down here to Darktown, before pausing for several minutes and heading back to the estate. He's a fucking wreck, Anders."

"What do you want me to do about it? Nero isn't awake long enough for a simple conversation. And when he is awake he's like a zombie. I had friends before in the same situation, they said that they felt numb when they were like that."

Nero heard Hawke sigh and, slowly, he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"Anders, I just...I don't know what to do. This whole situation is driving me insane. I had to ask Isabela to stay at my place because I couldn't ask Nero to do it, and Fenris refuses to, in case Nero ever goes home."

"The attacks are getting more frequent then?"

"Yes, and I worry for mother. Bodahn and Orana aren't exactly fighters, and Sandal is...unpredictable. Barkspawn is wonderful at letting us know when they arrive, but they keep sending more and more, he can't always take them all."

"Has Varric found anything out?"

"No, he's still saying that it isn't the carta though. That they must be rogue carta members or something." Hawke sighed again, "I just...I think Nero and Fenris would be good at detecting intruders, they are so good at hiding too...and my place is so close to theirs...I don't know, it would be more convenient for them, I thought."

"Do you really think if Nero and Fenris did get back together that Nero would want him anywhere around your place?"

"I suppose not...I just...is he okay? Will he be?"

"Hawke, you know he's not. In time...he probably will be, but I don't know how much he needs."

"Shit." Hawke muttered

"I appreciate the concern for my welfare." Nero said sarcastically as he stepped out from behind the curtain, a scowl on his face.

"N-Nero. Hi. How...what...uhh" Hawke stuttered, slowly making his way to the door.

An image of the situation he had found Hawke and Fenris in flashed through his mind and he was filled with rage again. He lifted a hand and pointed towards the door, saying "get the fuck out."

Hawke nodded and quickly left the clinic. Meanwhile Anders was preoccupied with gaping at Nero.

"You...you're...smoking purple?" he asked.

Nero sighed and headed back to the room without offering an explanation, too tired and frustrated to care.


	21. Chapter 21

"It's difficult to describe, Anders. Only in the past couple of months have I discovered my potential in controlling the river and what it runs through, but so far I've only been able to do it while I'm very, very angry. Fire is difficult to control, and I can't create it. I can't create anything. I can't make a boulder appear somewhere where there are no boulders, for example. Earth, the dirt and rocks and whatnot...doesn't really listen right away, when I call for it, sort of like it's so accustomed to being dormant that it needs to wake itself up first. Rocks are...sketchy to do anything with, I can urge one to move but I can't control where it goes. In my experience air is impossible...im sure the river flows through it, but I cannot control it.

"Haven't I seen you toss people and things without moving? Sort of like when I do a mind blast?" Anders asked.

"Yes, but that is not related to the air...at least, if it is I am unaware of it. What I do is gather as much from the river in myself as I can, and then sort of hold it for a moment before forcing it out of myself."

"Ah, I see. And whats with the tree root thing?"

"Trees and other plant life are the most willing to mold to my will, hence why I make use of them a lot more often than anything else. Also they are everywhere, and powerful. It is easiest to contact them when my skin is actually in the dirt, but I can do it without touching the ground at all...which I seem to be doing more of these past few years."

"Interesting," Anders said, "what about water? I don't think I've every seen you do anything with water."

"Well that's because I don't really like getting wet with my clothes on," Nero laughed, "you see-"

He was cut off by a banging on the door, Anders and Nero looked towards the sound only to find Isabela entering, a concerned and nervous look on her face. Nero was surprised, he hadn't seen her in about a month and a half, not since the time at the slaver cav- don't go there Nero, he reprimanded himself.

He still had not gone back to his mansion, and had not seen Fenris, nor any of the others except Aveline who had come to make sure he was okay. To which he had pretended he was. And, he supposed, he mostly was alright now. A few days after Hawke had visited Anders Nero had run out of the sleeping drought, and then it was time to face his issue. Time had eased the pain, although he still felt it, but he pretended he didn't have it most of the time. He had even spent so long at the clinic that he was learning a fair amount about first aid and had his own 'room' in the corner.

Isabela had interrupted them just after they had finished eating and were relaxing and chatting. She took one look at them sitting in their chairs before saying, "good, you're not busy. We need to go, Hawke's mother is missing."

Nero and Anders stood, each reaching for their respective weapons, Anders asked, "missing? What-"

"Remember that string of murders that Emery or whatever his name was, was investigating? Hawke looked into it, all the victims had received white lilies before they disappeared...Hawke's mother received white lilies earlier today and now she can't be found..."

"Merda...does he have any clues where she might be yet?" Nero asked as they waited for Anders to lock the clinic behind them.

Isabela narrowed her eyes at him, "didn't you tell Hawke you wanted to kill him? Why are you coming?"

Nero scowled, "Hawke is...it's complicated, I'm sure you've heard all about it...I'm not...it doesn't matter, Leandra is not Hawke. She does not deserve to be kidnapped."

"Right...quickly then, through here."

She led them up a ladder and into the cellar of Hawke's estate. Reminding Nero that Hawke had a very quick entrance to Darktown if he needed it. Nero had forgotten about it since all those years ago, when they had broken into it to find Hawke's grandfather's will.

She led them up the stairs, and into the main hall, where Hawke was pacing furiously. He looked up at their arrival and said, "thank the maker, I can't stay here any longer. Merril and Varric are searching Darktown for signs of her. Aveline is informing her guards to be on the look-out and has a few searching Hightown. Now we just need to wait for Sebastian and-"

He turned towards the front door mid sentence to see Fenris and Sebastian approaching. Nero was reminded of the time that Fenris had almost crushed his heart, the pain in his chest from seeing the elf hit so bad and so suddenly. There is an irony in that, that I'm sure I will appreciate later, he thought with a wince, and looked to the floor, refusing to meet the elf's eyes. This is not the time, this is not the time, this is not the-

"Great. Isabela, go with Sebastian and search the docks, would you? The rest of you, come with me. Gamlen has gone back home to see if she arrived there yet, although I doubt it, he would have sent word ages ago if she had. But we're searching Lowtown anyway, I think there is the most chance that she'll be there, since that was were she was heading." Hawke explained quickly.

And then they were heading towards the long staircase that descended into what Varric called the 'heart' of the city. Nero was so focused on not looking at anybody, especially not glancing at Fenris, that he let his mind wander to all sorts of things and didn't notice he was lagging behind. It wasn't until someone spoke beside him that he was shaken from memories of weeks ago, when he was, dare he think it, happy.

"Nero...I..."Fenris, unsure what he should or shouldn't say at the moment, let his sentence trail off. The past month and a half could have been years, it was so long and agonizing. He had gone on missions and jobs with Hawke as often as he could, and had even done some on his own in an attempt to distract himself. But no matter what he did he still went home to that damned empty mansion, it seemed so dark and lonely without Nero in it.

He had tried, almost every night for two weeks after he had spoken to Anders to go to the clinic and talk to Nero. But he was afraid, afraid that he would be rejected, afraid that Nero wouldn't forgive him, or listen to him. He was afraid to have to walk back to the mansion knowing that he was going to be the only one living in it from then on. Even if Nero just moved back into his room, and they never saw each other, he would be comforted. But after two weeks of trying he ran out of nerve and resigned himself to his lonely and bitter fate. A part of him wished that he had never experienced what Nero had given him, he may not have been happy before they met, but there had been moments where he was content. Now he couldn't get a moments peace without depressing thoughts plaguing him.

He felt even more guilt when Nero jumped at the sound of his voice and looked at him with pain, anger and fear in his eyes. He swallowed hard and without realizing it, his face settled in a scowl "I..."he began again, "I'm sorry."

Nero gaped at the elf for a moment, finding himself almost mesmerized by the sound of his voice and extremely entranced by the movement of his lips. He remembered the touch of his hair, the feel of his skin, and his lyrium markings...he felt a painful twist in his gut and, looking away, he clenched his jaw.

Several minutes passed before he saw Fenris making a move to speak again, instead he said sternly "now is not the time, Fenris."

Fenris tensed, the shame and guilt he felt over letting things get so bad for so long between them flooding his senses. He nodded solemnly and fell out of step with Nero. For a moment he stopped walking altogether, and thought about going back home, to hide with his shame. But Hawke looked back at him and motioned for him to keep following and he forced his feet to walk. Now was not the time for his own problems to get in the way. Leandra was missing and she needed to be found. Now.

...

It was almost morning by the time they trudged up the stairs leading to Hightown. Gamlen had found a street rat in Lowtown that had pointed them towards a trail of blood which led to the Dark Foundry. Inside they had encountered a self-proclaimed necromancer. One who had, along with the bodies of several other missing girls, used Leandra's body to reincarnate a replica of his own long-dead wife.

They had killed the necromancer, and unfortunately the mage's magic was the only thing keeping Leandra alive. Hawke held her in his arms in the dirt floor, and spoke to her quietly as she died. Anders, Fenris and Nero had been helpless but to watch as Hawke fell apart. Eventually the warrior was able to gather himself together enough to leave the Foundry and head home to where is uncle awaited news. They trudged through the empty city silently, no one knowing what words they could possibly say to comfort the mourning man. It wasn't until they reached the door to his mansion that Hawke spoke.

"Somebody should probably go tell Aveline that we found...her." he said, choking on the last word.

Nero was about to volunteer, not wanting to be left alone with Fenris at that moment, when Anders noticed and said he would do it before Nero could. He ignored the scowl he received from the man and bid Hawke farewell, promising to return after he saw Aveline. Hawke nodded and headed inside without another word, Anders leaving for the Viscounts Keep at the same time. Unsure where to go Nero and Fenris stood awkwardly, listening to the muffled voice of Gamlen and Hawke on the other side of the door.

With a frown Nero muttered, "we probably shouldn't stay here."

Fenris, thankful that Nero had spoken anything, blurted out. "I did not sleep with him."

Nero met the elf's eyes for the first time that night, and blinked several times before saying, "what?"

Fenris motioned at the door of Hawke's home, "Hawke. I did not sleep with him. Anders told me you thought I did, but I didn't and..." he trailed off, unsure how much he should say, or, even, what he wanted to say.

Nero watched him for several minutes without saying a thing. Fenris took the time to appreciate that which he hadn't seen for far too long. The large, and strange, purple eyes. The hair, blacker than his own probably once was. The skin, soft from more time spent indoors than out, and marred with soft stress and laugh lines. The silver earring cuffs, the full lips, the scar on them.

Without realizing what he was doing he pulled Nero to him, and pressed their lips together. He was pleased when Nero didn't resist, instead leaning into him and sucking on Fenris' bottom lip gently. He ignored any lingering thoughts and just let himself feel every spot that Nero was touching him.

He moaned pathetically, however, when Nero pulled away and rest his forehead on Fenris' shoulder. Fenris could feel that Nero's brow was furrowed, like he was confused.

Nero took deep breaths for several minutes before muttering, "if you didn't sleep with him, why does it still hurt so much?" and with that he pushed himself out of Fenris' embrace and walked away, towards the staircase that would take him back to Darktown.

Fenris looked towards the staircase long after Nero was gone, before wandering Hightown in the dark, avoiding going back home where thoughts and memories lingered.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished writing act 2. There will be 30 chapters, but the last one is going to be short and boring, I'm just going to summarize the Qunari events and whatnot as Nero doesn't really have a large part to play in it, other than being one of the companions.

Knowing that Fenris had not slept with Hawke did nothing to ease Nero's mind. He did not think Fenris was lying about it, but there were still questions to be answered. Why was Fenris at Hawke's at all? Did he not wonder whether Nero was all right? Did he really think apologizing would make Nero feel better?

Two more agonizing months passed, with none of his questions being answered. But then, it wasn't as though he was asking them. He hardly ever saw Fenris, much less spoke to him. He was never asked to accompany Hawke on jobs anymore either, so the only times Nero saw the elf was if someone in the group was injured and they were brought to the clinic. On those occasions he sat on a stool in the back, or spoke to Isabela and Varric. The only times he even left the clinic was once or twice a week when he went with Anders to buy supplies and sometimes when he would visit Varric or Aveline on his own.

Aveline had been seeing to his garden, and had even taken it upon herself to harvest a patch of elfroot that was ready. He was eternally grateful and vowed to do whatever she asked, to which she laughed and told him to be careful what he wished for. He was returning to the clinic with the sack full of the plants when he stumbled upon Anders talking to a familiar woman with short, dark hair.

He cocked his head to the side and asked, "is that...Bethany?"

The woman turned towards him with a large smile on her face, "Nero!" she exclaimed, running to him and pulling him into a tight hug.

When she pulled away he asked, "what are you doing here?"

She giggled, "it's the craziest thing, there are a bunch of dwarves trying to kill me. Which is almost a relief compared to darkspawn, I tell you. After I told Garret in a letter he sent me one back saying that the same thing was happening to him and that Varric was looking into it. Apparently he found out where their base is. There are going to be a lot of them...so we kind of need help."

"That's where we come in." Anders told him.

"So wait...you have carta attacking you all the way down in Ferelden?"

"No-no, six months ago I was reassigned to the Warden Keep in Ansburg after my cousin, the Warden Commander in Ferelden, disappeared. They're bold little dwarves, they snuck into the Warden Keep to get at me."

Nero set his bag down in the corner of the clinic before asking, "So what did you do to piss off the carta?"

Bethany shrugged, "I don't know, that's what we're going to find out."

...

"So why did you cut your hair? It was so long and pretty." Merril asked Bethany.

They had left Kirkwall two days before, heading further and further away from forest and civilized life and further into a desert-like wasteland, towards the Vimmark Mountains. The place where the Carta apparently had a hideout.

Bethany reached a hand up and twisted a piece of her hair, "oh, it gets in the way when I'm fighting...and its annoying when you have darkspawn blood in it and you cant wash it out. There isn't a whole lot of water in the deep roads, you don't waste what you have."

Merril frowned, "what a shame."

"I would have just tied it back, but not all of us are as good at keeping a tie in their hair like our dear Anders does." She said with a wink towards the healer.

Anders laughed, "it's a skill, long practiced...and sometimes held with magic."

"Cheater." Bethany mumbled, before giggling.

Nero was trying his best to listen to them, but constantly felt his mind wandering. The past two days had been tense. He had not realized that Fenris would be going as well, if he had, he wasn't sure if he would have agreed to go. Now he was spending as much time as he could with Anders, or Varric, knowing that Fenris wasn't likely to try to approach him if he wasn't alone. It was painful, seeing the elf so often.

A part of him wanted to talk to him, but the rest of him was too worried about what he would find out. Even so, he still caught himself watching Fenris, when he wasn't looking. And he always felt a terrible guilt at the pained look that would occasionally cross Fenris' features; usually when he thought no one was watching. He tried to ignore it, but seeing the elf hurting...hurt.

Realizing he had stopped listening again he forced his attention back to the conversation...or tried to, but they weren't having any. No one was, he realized. They were walking across a bridge that didn't seem to serve any purpose, and there were even less trees and foliage than before, but other than that he didn't see anything different. Nothing to warrant the lull in conversation, at least.

It wasn't until they stopped walking that he realized that Varric, Hawke and Bethany were at the front of the group, looking at the expanse of the desert like area ahead of them.

"There it is" Varric said.

"That's were these dwarves are?" Bethany asked.

"These are carta dwarves, so they're more criminals and smugglers than anything else. They're not usually stupid though. I don't know why they'd attack you." he sighed and turned to Hawke "you have a plan then? I found their hideout but my sources couldn't tell me anything else. It's all very strange."

"Why do you say that, its just the carta isn't it?" Hawke asked.

"As far as my contacts in the carta know, they shouldn't be here. There shouldn't even be a here. This place is invisible. A big blind spot on the map. Bianca has never been this suspicious, and shes twitchy to start with."

"Does it matter?" Bethany asked, "We just need them to stop trying to kill us"

"A fine point. So, whats the plan?" Varric asked again.

"Oh I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding. Later we'll all have tea and a laugh." Hawke joked dryly.

"Oh, your name is Hawke? I thought it was Locke." Varric laughed.

"At least the wardens let me come," Bethany said, "I can't leave an attack like this unanswered."

"I agree, lets go." Hawke said.

They didn't get very far before they came across a dead bronto and a ruined caravan, with a few dead bodies around it.

Hawke raised an eyebrow at the mess, "someone doesn't like intruders."

Varric shook his head, "they're from the merchants guild, the carta doesn't kill guild members. That's...really strange."

"When you find something that isn't strange about this mess, let me know, would you?"

They continued down a path, bits and pieces of a dwarven structure sticking from the ground on either side. Varric eyed it warily, amazed that something could cross such a large expanse yet no one would know about it.

Bethany strode next to her brother and said "I'm glad mother... well, she didn't need to deal with this. Attacks on both of us...why couldn't they go after Gamlen?

Hawke chuckled, "good taste?"

Bethany laughed, "I wish the things lurking in the dark had such a discerning palate. It'd be almost comforting. Understandable. Instead of what I've seen. Thanks to... this life."

Hawke frowned at her sarcastic tone, "you'd have less to know about it if you were, you know, dead."

"When things get difficult...I find myself wanting to blame you. But I know its not your fault, I would have done the same in your shoes. I do feel as though I have a better purpose in my life now, opposed to making sure I'm not caught by templars, I mean. With the part I play in getting rid of darkspawn, I feel like I'm making a positive difference in the world."

"You do realize there are like...millions of the bastards, right?" Anders questioned.

Bethany gave him a smile, "of course, you twit. But for every one I kill that could be another person's life saved. If it helps me deal with it, then don't ruin it."

"Yes ma'am." Anders grinned.

Hawke's gaze drifted from one mage to the other and he frowned, "what is...are you two...oh, Maker."

Bethany cocked her head to the side, "whats wrong, brother?"

"Are you really flirting with him, right in front of me?" He asked.

Bethany laughed, "I don't think that counts as flirting, and anyway, remember Jethann? The elf in the Blooming Rose? Yeah, I thought so."

Disgusted Hawke quickened his pace, to the laughter of the two behind him. Children, he thought bitterly.

They were making their way around a turn in the road when they saw a few dwarves in the distance and heard from the rocks to their right, "It's the Hawke!" then the dwarves in the distance scuttled away.

Isabela giggled as she watched them, "dwarves are funny, look at them running away on their stumpy little legs."

"I heard that." Varric grumbled.

"It's cute when you do it." She smirked.

Further down the road they found themselves walking through a covered area, the structure arching high above them. Hawke scrutinized the roof, half expecting it to fall down on top of them. He forced himself to look away, and noticed the strange look on Bethany and Anders' faces.

"Do you feel that, Anders?" Bethany asked.

"Yes, it feels...familiar, but I can't place it...darkspawn?" he replied.

She shook her head, "I don't think so. I don't recognize it at all. Wait, is that...a dwarf?"

At the end of the walkway stood a dwarf with cloudy eyes, he gestured wildly as they approached.

"You! You're finally here! You've come!" he exclaimed, "everyone it's the children of Malcolm Hawke! They've come to us!

Two more dwarves approached, their eyes equally as cloudy.

Hawke ignored them, "What does my father have to do with this?" he demanded.

"It began with him and ends with you! Blood for blood that's what we were told!"

Hawke shook his head, "you're not making any sense."

"You've come to us now, and that's all that matters!"

"Tell me, how could I refuse such a delightfully worded invitation?"

"We must have the blood! You don't understand." the dwarf said.

"Oh, blood, why didn't you just ask." Hawke rolled his eyes.

"We will take it, Corypheus will walk in the sun once more!"

Bethany was quick to encase the three Dwarves in ice when they made a move to attack, then Hawke and Fenris made quick work of shattering them and the group was on the move again. They descended a small flight of stairs and found themselves in an open field in front of a gated wall, with two outcroppings made of wood in the rock on either side of the valley. Several dwarves stood on each outcropping and as soon as the group appeared in their sights they sent a volley of arrows down on them, causing Hawke and his friends to scatter for cover.

Anders had grabbed Bethany and had run back into the walkway and was hiding behind a pillar, trying as hard as he could to press them both flat against the wall. Bethany was forced to press herself against the healer, if she stood beside him then she could still be targeted by the archers. Despite the danger of the situation Anders still felt himself going red in the ears by the contact and willed himself to ignore the press of Bethany's breasts into his chest or the breath wisping across his neck and collarbone.

Suddenly Bethany chuckled, "had I known all I had to do was get arrows shot at us to get you in this position, I would have made it happen days ago."

Anders blinked several times,"I...what?"

Smiling Bethany pulled away, "No time, we have Dwarves to kill."

With that she ran back into the fray, tossing ice and fire at her enemies. Anders watched, baffled, by what had just happened. Is she truly interested? Maker, she's changed so much, he thought.

For the first time since the incident below the gallows Justice made himself known, "she is a distraction." he said.

"Justice? I almost thought you were gone. Does it matter if she's a distraction? We're out in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, we aren't going to run into Meredith or templars out here...I don't think."

"I have been dormant...I regret what we nearly did to that girl. But even so that does not excuse our lack of attention towards the cause. We do not need the distraction she will be."

Anders scoffed, and sent a healing spell towards Isabela, healing the wound she received on her thigh, "she will be going back to Ansburg when we're done here, Justice. How can she be a distraction when shes not even around. Just...let me enjoy something for a few days, would you?"

Justice didn't reply and Anders considered that a victory. The real battle was over a few minutes later, and he rejoined the group.

"How is it you get into these situations so often?" Fenris was asking Hawke.

He raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"Hmm. Attacked by dwarves, approached by strangers, saved by witches... madness."

"It's a gift." Hawke smiled.

Fenris laughed "Well I think you should return it. "

Hawke chuckled and pushed open the gate and they found themselves being attacked by another group of dwarves. The group was smaller this time, however, and it didn't take long for them to be dispatched. After the fight Hawke realized that the door was locked and they spread out to search for a key. Hawke and Anders were going through some crates and Varric was picking open a chest.

"Deranged dwarves, we can check that off the list." Anders said.

Varric shook his head "The carta doesn't normally act like this, they're businessmen."

Hawke frowned, "I'd like to know who this Corypheus is. With a name like that he's bound to go Muah-ha-ha at some point. I just know it." He paused, "and really? More blood? Why can't it ever be a lock of hair or spit?"

Varric chuckled, "you really want to encounter a spit mage?"

Hawke shrugged, "for variety, sure."

"Ah, I love doing that." Varric said when the chest opened, he didn't need to search very long to find the key, he presented it to Hawke, who smiled.

"Excellent, why don't we take a little break before proceeding any further?" He called the others over and told them that they were going to take a break. Everyone was grateful and Bethany sat down to start a fire and heat up a small stew that they had prepared the night before.

They stayed in the little alcove that the chest and crates were in, and Isabela searched through them, finding some more food and shoving it in a pack. Varric and Fenris were asked to go patrol the entrance to the area, and warn them if anybody seemed to be approaching.

Nero sat on the ground and watched Bethany, his face expressionless as he let his mind drift. He didn't even notice Hawke approach until a shadow fell over him.

He wrapped his arms around his legs and asked, "What do you want, Hawke?"

Hawke sat down beside him, "I think you and Fenris should work through your issues. It looks to be destroying you both."

Nero sighed, but did not reply, instead he laid his head on his knees and looked the other way.

Hawke sighed, "look, I was going to send Bodahn when Fenris showed up at my place that night...but the first thing he said was that he wanted to talk. So I asked Bodahn to leave and planned to listen to Fenris and then if Fenris didn't go home I was going to send Bodahn to tell you. I figured there was a reason that Fenris came to my place, there was, he apologized to me for taking his anger out on me, which lead into a tirade about Hadriana and his anger. Things didn't go as planned and he ended up falling asleep in the private library I have off of my room and i went to bed, figuring that i might as well wait till morning. An error on my part, and I'm sorry for doing that. I had woken up early the next day and had just told Bodahn to tell you where Fenris was and when you arrived you found me getting ready for a bath and Fenris putting his gear on and telling me that he was heading home . Nothing happened between us."

Several minutes passed without Nero speaking, and Hawke was just getting ready to give up and head back to his tent when Nero finally spoke.

"Why would he rather talk to you, than me?" he asked quietly, still looking away.

"I don't know. Ask him." Hawke stood, "look, thank you for coming. Bethany and I appreciate your coming along, despite how awkward it may be for you."

Nero finally raised his head and nodded, and with that Hawke left, leaving Nero to wonder how long he could avoid the inevitable conversation that needed to take place between him and Fenris.


	23. Chapter 23

"Someday I'll visit a place with no ancient horrors, devouring plagues, or insanity. Maybe a beach." Hawke was saying. They finished their meal and were walking down a roofless corridor like road, the sun was setting and Hawke was suddenly very tired of being attacked all the time.

"I can recommend a few, if you'd like." Isabela offered.

"Please do."

They all stopped and stared in wonder at the heart of the fortress that was visible to them just as they reached a road that led down a hill and around a cliff, presumably right to their destination.

"Well would you look at that." Anders said

They continued down the path, the sand made it difficult to keep a sure foothold and there was a lot of sliding and there were several times that one of them almost fell.

Varric looked up at the Fortress as they approached it, "there was nothing on any map of the area, trust me I looked."

"So, do we venture inside, or do we make camp for the night?" Hawke asked.

Varric scratched his chin, "I don't know, its up to you really" He glanced around at the others, Sebastian was limping, Isabela, Bethany, and Merril were slouching and leaning on each other tiredly, and Nero and Fenris looked exhausted and stressed...but that was nothing new for them. Varric looked back to Hawke, who looked rather tired himself, "maybe we should rest for a few hours. I think everyone might need it."

Hawke glanced at the others and saw the hopeful expressions before looking back at the door leading into the Fortress and nodding, "alright, I'd rather not lose anyone because their tired. How about we go back around the bend in the road and make camp there. Sound good?"

He got several nods of approval and it wasn't long before they were setting up their tents and working out a schedule for watch. He tried to set Bethany up with himself or Fenris, but she gave him a look that spelled murder, and he begrudgingly told her to take first watch with Anders while the rest of them took to their tents.

Before he went to his own however, he stopped Bethany and pulled her to the side, "be careful around him, would you? He almost killed a girl a couple of months ago...he's dangerous."

Bethany scowled at him, "I'm 22 years old and I'm a gray warden, and a mage, I think I can handle it."

Hawke sighed, "just...be careful. okay?"

She gave him a small reassuring smile, "I will."

He watched her for a few minutes more before he gave up and headed to his tent, where he fell asleep almost immediately.

Bethany joined Anders where he was sitting on a rock, watching the sun set. He smiled at her when he joined her but didn't say anything.

Curious about what her brother said, she asked "so...whats this I hear about you almost killing a girl?"

He slumped and a pained expression crossed his face, immediately she regretted asking. He coughed but wouldn't look at her and said "we were in a tunnel underneath the gallows and came across a templar threatening a mage...she was so scared, and then we...well, more Justice than me, killed the templars and Justice turned on her...I think he would have killed her too if Nero hadn't yelled at him and divided his attention between the girl and Nero. I was able to stop him from harming her...but barely. I am a monster...you shouldn't be around me, it isn't safe."

She frowned at him and placed a reassuring hand on his back, "I'll be the judge of that...you haven't seemed very Justicey since I've been back. You've barely talked about the mages plight at all."

He sat up and leaned back on his hands, looking at he sky, seeing the first stars twinkle into sight, "Justice regrets what he had almost done, he sort of retreated after that. Abandoned me to deal with the guilt on my own, more like."

"That is not true." Justice told him, but he ignored it.

"That's a good thing though, isn't it? That he backed off, I mean. Do you feel more yourself, from what I hear you have kind of been acting more yourself these past couple days."

He started and stared at her, "what-"

She giggled quietly, "I was at vigils keep, remember? When they found out I knew who you were, they regaled me with lots of interesting stories about you. Don't give me that look, I didn't tell them where you were, staying. I said that my brother came across you traveling and hired you to help us in the deep roads."

Anders groaned, "Andraste's knickers, do I want to know what they said?"

"That you were a flirty bastard, and hit on everything in sight-"

"I wasn't that bad...maybe." he frowned.

Bethany laughed, "I remember my cousin telling me that you told him all you wanted was a pretty girl, a decent meal and the right to shoot lightening at fools."

"Is my libido the only thing I'm remembered for there?" he sighed.

"Your ever present sarcasm too. And for wearing a skirt...sparkle fingers." she smirked.

Anders burst out laughing, "Maker! I can't believe I forgot about Ohgren! How is that bastard?"

"Okay the last time I saw him, he seemed pleased to hear that you weren't, you know, dead. He said that your the only one that ever tried to drink more than he did. Quite the story that was."

A pained expression came across Anders' face at the memory, at both the taste of the liqueur and the hangover it caused, not even magic got rid of it. "I don't think Nathanial ever let me live that one down."

Bethany smiled, "I can picture that, he's...different."

Anders raised an eyebrow at her, and ignored the stirrings of jealousy in his gut "you almost sound like you miss him."

Bethany shrugged, "he was...he...we were close friends...but not much more. We...um-" she looked away and began biting her lip, unsure if she should continue or not.

Anders watched her nervous habits and, despite his displeasure at what was causing it, he still thought it was cute...and king of sexy. Stop it, he told himself. "You slept with him, didn't you?" he blurted. Smooth, Anders, smooth, what is wrong with you?

She stared at him, her mouth open at the bluntness of the question before scowling and saying, "I did, but it wasn't like I fucked him for shits and giggles."

Feeling guilty that he made her angry over something that he had no right to be jealous of he looked away and picked at the hem of his coat. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

Bethany sighed and laid back on the rock. The stars were out in full force now, they hadn't lit a fire, because they didn't wish to alert the dwarves to their location, but thankfully the moon was full and the sky was clear so there was plenty to see by. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. After the joining I...changed. Urges I had before were stronger and I was struggling to come to terms with my need to...my desire to...have sex. I was lonely, I didn't really know anyone, and Nathanial was the closest thing I had to a friend at the time, and he helped me come to terms with my new lot in life, and I caved and told him how I was struggling...and I asked if he would...and we did. Only a few times though. I could have lost my virginity to worse."

Anders remembered the changes that took place after his joining. It was something that only happened to mages apparently, something to do with the taint and the magic colliding. It set everything on edge, and he became very horny, hungrier than the other recruits, and the amount of sleep he needed to function halved. It was like his body knew that it had a time limit all of a sudden and was pushing him to experience life to the fullest before he died. Luckily since he had joined with Justice those urges were suppressed, and now he barely noticed them.

Anders frowned and laid back on the rock beside her, "that's true...it could have been worse. I'm sorry...it's my fault, I should have gone with you back to the wardens, to make sure you weren't alone, that you knew what was happening. I should have warned you, I should have-"

Bethany sighed in frustration and rolled over so that she was leaning over him, she saw the pain and regret in his face and devoted herself to getting rid of it. "Stop it." she said, "you had your reasons for leaving the Gray Wardens in the first place. I would not have myself be the reason that you went back. Experiencing it without my friends or family close by...sort of helped...I feel stronger because of it, more independent. I miss my brother sometimes, but I never feel like I need him to protect me anymore."

Anders stared up into her golden eyes, and saw her dark hair framing her face in whisps as it fell towards him and he felt an inexplicable urge to sink his fingers into that hair and kiss her.

He realized that she must have felt the same when she began to lean towards him, panicking he turned his head to the side and said, "No, Bethany. I can't. We can't." feeling like a black hole was in his chest he sat up, forcing her to pull away and sit, watching him, confusion on her face. He tried to reason with her, "I'll only hurt you and break your heart, and...what would we do when you leave? You cant stay in Kirkwall can you? I can't go back to the Wardens. No, I don't want to do this to you, you deserve better."

She frowned, "you cannot tell me what I do and do not deserve. You do not know me that well. As for the rest...I'll figure it out later."

He stood up and turned towards her, he was about to speak when he saw movement from one of the tents. Nero was stretching as he left the tent, a pained expression on his face. Another bad dream no doubt, Anders thought. He looked back to where Bethany was waiting patiently for him to speak and shook his head, "we can't. And our watch is over" was all he said before heading towards his tent.

A part of him prayed that she would leave him be, but another part prayed that she wouldn't.


	24. Chapter 24

They had all woken up early the next day and continued back down the road to enter the carta hideout. There had been only two dwarfs in the first set of rooms and now they were all searching it, for clues, or something that would tell them what the dwarves wanted with Hawke, as they certainly weren't answering any of his questions.

Nero was rifling through a barrel and eating an apple he found, Isabela and Varric were not very far from him, both having found small locked chests and racing to see who could unlock them quickest when Fenris was descending the stairs towards them. He mustered up his courage and forced his feet to move towards Nero. As he approached Nero looked up and, after reaching back in the barrel, offered him an apple with a small smile.

Fenris, too stunned by the gesture to respond, knelt by him and said, "It's nice to see you have come, despite my presence, Nero."

Nero frowned, unsure how to proceed "I...see."

"I just... am pleased. To see you. That's all." Fenris said awkwardly, furrowing his brow at his own inadequacy.

Luckily, Nero was saved from having to reply by Varric and Isabela.

"Smooth." Varric chuckled

Isabela laughed "Oh Fenris."

Fenris felt heat flood his cheeks and ears and stood, he went back up the stairs and leaned against a door frame, too distracted by his own thoughts to think about what the others were doing. It wasn't long after that Nero ascended the stairs and grabbed a bag that was obviously one of the carta member's, and, after emptying it on the floor he went back to the barrel, presumably to fill the bag. Unfortunately for Fenris, Merrill caught site of the wistful look that he shot at Nero's back and giggled from where she stood beside him.

He jumped, having been unaware she was there "what?" he demanded, "why are you looking at me like that?

"You're in love!" She proclaimed in a sing-song tone of voice.

Fenris was flabbergasted, "I am not."

"You keep looking at Nero with sad puppy eyes every time his back is turned." she told him.

"There are no puppy eyes." He insisted .

"It's all right, you know. Even you can be happy once in a while. It won't kill you. But your face might crack if you smile, so be careful." She teased.

Fenris scowled and eyed her warily, looking to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Still not an abomination, I see." he said.

"Well, let's take a look. Not insane. Not deformed. Not attacking , I think I'm still good!" She said cheerfully.

"Such a relief." he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Cheer up, Fenris! This isn't so bad!"

"We're in a black pit full of evil. How can you imagine this "isn't so bad?""

"It's not going to rain. And there's almost no chance of being attacked by bears!"

He threw up his hands in disgust "and we put our lives in your hands. Astonishing."

"Oh, I know. It surprises me, too." Merrill giggled.

"How do I always end up talking to you?" he asked.

"Maybe subconsciously you like me."

"Ugh." was the last thing he said before refusing to say another word to her, despite her prodding.

Bethany was searching the next, smaller room with Anders when he whistled, "they were a little eager to get at you." he said, offering her a paper he found.

"If only everyone was." She winked before taking the paper from him and reading it out loud, "'We have learned Bethany Hawke is with the Grey Wardens. Search all of the Free Marches if you must, but find her. Kill whoever gets in your way, but make sure the girl is unharmed. The blood of Malcolm Hawke must remain pure. The Great One demands this of you. In the name of the Master, Corypheus. May he see sunlight again.' Heh."

"They should have just stuck with trying to get your brother, at least he stays in relatively the same place." Anders chuckled.

"Apparently they don't quite understand the Grey Wardens...my blood is less than pure." She laughed and put the paper in her pocket.

Anders looked at her sadly, once again remembering his part to play in her fate to become a Grey Warden. Bethany saw this and sighed before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug. He stiffened, but after a moment complied, the warmth emanating from her, even through all his clothing and her armor, was comforting, and she smelled so nice, like vanilla and some mixture of spices. And the way she lay her cheek against his to whisper in his ear- Andraste's knickers, I hope she doesn't feel that.

"I don't blame you, you shouldn't either." She said.

Suddenly Hawke's voice filled the small room, "sister, really? Right now?"

With a frustrated sigh Bethany pulled away to face her brother, placing her hands on her hips in mock irritation, "I was getting bored waiting for you to finish searching, brother."

"Well I guess I better tell the others we're done then, shouldn't I? Sister." then Hawke glanced at where Anders was standing awkwardly, his ears bright and red and he couldn't resist. "But, if you would like to continue snogging Anders I suppose I could shut the door and get Varric to tell a story." he grinned.

Anders looked positively mortified by the suggestion and Bethany giggled, but shook her head, "stop teasing him, Garrett"

Hawke sighed, "fine. But we really are ready to move on."

"Then lets go!" she said cheerfully before going to tell the others that they were moving.

This left Anders and Hawke in the small room, alone. Anders shifted nervously under the suddenly scrutinizing look Hawke was giving him. Anders knew he was older and taller than Hawke, but this was still the first time he had to face the family member of a girl that was interested in him, at least, the first time that he hadn't actually slept with her and was still wearing all of his clothing. Anders could have been the size of a Qunari and he was sure he would still be terrified. Hawke had that effect.

"So Anders," Hawke said in a cheerful tone, that did not match his expression, "I want to say 'you hurt her, and ill hurt you' but 'A' - I don't think she would appreciate that. And 'B' - she's more than capable of taking care of herself these days, so if you hurt her, she'll hurt you. I just ask that if you are going to hurt her...try to do it gently."

Anders blinked at him several times, amazed that the man could be that insightful. Hawke noticed the baffled look on his face and chuckled, "I heard you two talking last night," he explained, "anybody that was awake in camp did. You said you would hurt her, and that you couldn't. But even I can see that you will, and I just want your word that if you do hurt her, you'll do it kindly."

Anders nodded as the others approached, "I'll do my best, Hawke."

...

They had cleared their way through the areas of the Carta hideout that was above ground. It wasn't until they reached a door that was locked and obviously led below ground that Hawke had called a halt to their advancement into the fortress. He insisted that they go back to the place where they had been ambushed by several carta members, there were two main rooms there, with enough beds for them all, he suggested they make use of it. Night had fallen by the time they had chosen their bunks, the girls in one room and the boys in the other, and they began lighting as many candles as they could when they got there. The night was warm and no one was in any mood to cook so they ended up sharing the fruit and vegetables in the sack that Nero had filled earlier that day.

Many in the group tucked in early, when Sebastian began praying before bed Anders rolled his eyes and left. He wasn't particularly tired at that moment anyway. He had spent most of the day saving his mana for when someone got injured, which didn't happen much, and only threw the occasional fire ball at anyone that got close to him.

He walked out the door of the room he was sharing with the other men, through the little courtyard that both the men and women's room opened into and through another door to the open area that they had taken down two bronto's earlier that day, he lazily let his feet carry him to the top of the stairs leading down to a small platform and another room below when he heard a door creak open and footsteps approach him.

Luckily for Bethany he recognized the sound of her approach and turned to meet her. He cocked his head to the side and asked, "where did you just come from? And why are you only wearing that?"

She smiled, and looked down at the simple blue robe that reached just above her knees, and the golden griffon stitched onto the breast, "when we got here I took off my armor, its warm tonight. And I came from that room that a dwarf tried to ambush us from earlier. Isabela and Merrill are talking about people I don't know in Kirkwall, so I kind of got bored and left."

Anders frowned, "I'm not sure you should sleep alone. That room is kind of far from everyone else."

She smiled seductively, "what if I don't sleep alone?"

Anders sighed, "I'm only human Bethany, I cannot keep resisting like this."

She cocked her head to the side, "I don't want you to resist."

He watched her warily for a few seconds before he came to a decision, and smirked, "well then why don't you show me this room you're so fond of."

She smiled and grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers, before turning and leading him to her room. Once inside she closed the door behind them and it wasn't long before he cupped her face in both his hands and pressed their lips together gently.

She whimpered into the kiss and wrapped her arms around is midsection, pulling him closer. She had heard the stories, but she was still surprised by how well he kissed, it was simply...amazing. Somehow, with a single kiss, he managed to convey lust and love. And she drank it in eagerly.

He, however, wasn't thinking too clearly. He was consumed by this overpowering need he had for her. Not the need to take her and leave as he had with others, but a need to simply be with her, to give her as much as he could of himself, and to receive as much as he could of her. The strength of this emotion overwhelmed him and he pulled away suddenly, to simply take in her beautiful face. It was as though he had never really looked before, and he was amazed by how stunning she was. This close he could see flecks of green in her light brown eyes, and he could feel the soft, short tresses of her hair between his fingers and he thought for a moment that if he could freeze time he would freeze it right then. Because the epiphany of the moment would never strike him again quite like it was right now.

He let go of her hair and moved his hands to her ass and, pulling her up, he leaned her against the door and she wrapped her legs around him, hooking her ankles at the small of his back. This time when he kissed her it was more intense, like he suddenly needed her. With a start she realized that she was probably just projecting her feelings, because at that moment she definitely needed him. Her hands shook with urgency and desire when she reached between them to untie his feathered jacket, he shrugged out of it and it fell with a thump to the floor. He did not seem to notice, instead moving from her mouth to kiss along her neck and collarbone, when she moaned this time she heard a low growl coming from him and shivered with the lust it invoked in her.

She persisted in untying his coat and after she pushed that off she found herself looking at some very muscular arms. His undershirt was sleeveless, evidently, and she couldn't stop herself from trailing her hands up them. The mages she was used to, were not this ...impressive.

Taking a guess as to why she was suddenly very quiet he smirked and kissed her again. At the same time he slid his hands under the hem of her nightgown and, letting his hands trail up her back, he lifted it up, so that she was forced to take it off. Which she did, gladly. However, she needed to get his shirt off, she decided, and she would not do that when her legs were basically pinning the fabric to his body. So, wrapping her arms underneath his, in a sort of hug, she unhooked her ankles and let her feet fall to the floor. When they did she tugged at his shirt and pushed it up, he complied and took it off. Then she stepped back and admired the view.

Maker, even Warden mages aren't that beefy, you never would have guess he had that hiding under all his clothing. She thought to herself before noticing the bulge in his pants twitch and smirked at him.

While she admired him, he was far too busy admiring her to notice much else. She had not been wearing a breast-band and his pants became very uncomfortable at the sight. He ached to touch her flesh again, but he was also enjoying the torment of simply looking, and was unsure what to do with himself. What he had taken for a tan appeared to simply be a darker complexion than that of her brother, and he was pleased to see that she was neither predominately muscular, nor bony. He could not see her ribs unless she took a deep breath and maker everything looks so soft.

She reached for his hand again and pulled him so that he was facing the bed, she was facing him so she walked backward until her legs hit the side of it. He took this opportunity to fall to his knees in front of her and nuzzle her breasts before gently teasing them with his fingers and tongue.

The sensation of his warm tongue on her nipples, and then his cool breath blowing across them nearly did her in and her knees gave out and she was sitting on the bed. Scuttling to the edge of it she took his mouth with a ferocity that wasn't there before and reached down to untie his breeches. He groaned loudly when he was free and she shivered again.

She began to gently and slowly stroke him, and he pulled away from the kiss to lean his forehead along her collarbone and moan. Suddenly his hands were toying with the top of her underwear and it wasn't long before his hand was flat against her abdomen and his thumb was in them, rubbing gently against her clitoris; small bolts of electricity passed from his thumb to her, creating a sensation she had never felt before. She gasped loudly and bucked, his cock completely forgotten by the sensation assaulting her.

She heard a rip and her underwear was pulled away, but she was too overtaken by sensation to care. She moaned loudly when two fingers entered her and curved up, hitting her sensitive spot, and it wasn't very long before she was grinding down onto them and it wasn't very long after that that she was gushing all over his hand and biting her arm to stop herself from screaming too loudly.

Anders, glad that he hadn't lost it over the years of inactivity, smiled and wiped his hand off on the blanket beside where Bethany was gasping and staring at the ceiling limply. Sitting back he waited for her to recover, and spent the time playing with himself, eager for what was to come.

"What." Bethany asked breathlessly, "Was. That?"

Anders chuckled, "Good, I hope."

"Amazing, more like." she said, sitting up to see him playing with himself she leaned forward, to take over for him. I don't think tonight will be long enough, she thought.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but I didn't want to add much more to it. I plan on moving on from the carta compound and down into the deeproads, I don't really feel like dragging legacy on and on and on and on...

As Fenris descended the stairs leading to the spot that best viewed the strange dwarven tower in the center of the fortress, he heard a faint moan, and for a second he found himself terribly jealous. It wasn't that long ago he was - stop torturing yourself, fool. He sighed.

He was almost at the prime viewpoint when he realized that he was not the only one with the idea of using it. He considered turning around and heading back, but there were things that needed to be said, and what better time to say them than when he came across Nero, alone.

Nero stiffened and turned towards him as he approached before getting down off of the barrel he was sitting on. When they stood side by side they both looked at the tower and just as Fenris was about to say something Nero spoke.

"The time has come, has it?"

Fenris raised an eyebrow, "what?"

Nero sighed and turned to face him, "why Hawke?"

Confused, Fenris said, "I told you I didn't sleep with him."

Nero shook his head,"that's not what I mean. He told me you went there to talk to him...why didn't you come to talk to me? I thought you would have been comfortable enough-"

"It wasn't that I wasn't comfortable..." he sighed and began to pace, running a hand through his hair, "I found myself wondering the same thing, the next day. I was...selfish. I was upset and angry about what happened with Hadriana and...I didn't think I wanted to talk about it...it was very late before I showed up at Hawke's, my only intention was to apologize for turning my anger on him, then I was going to go to the mansion."

"But that didn't happen."

"No, it did not. He asked what happened and I went into a tirade, by the time it was done I was tired, and I knew you would be upset and would wish to talk. And I convinced myself that it would be alright to sleep at Hawke's and see you in the morning...It was a selfish and self-centered thing to do, and I'm sorry." He turned away from Nero, too ashamed to face him directly. "I...understand why you would be upset by that...but at the time I was blinded by my rage and my...emotions, I suppose. As a slave I had taught myself to be neutral, I have little experience dealing with all of these things now, everything is so new to me. When these new emotions hit me I get confused, and I don't know what to do about them, and most of the time I just go by instinct." He turned to Nero with a broken expression upon his face, one that hinted at self-loathing, "perhaps I am just an angry, self absorbed person. Maybe there is nothing more to me."

It was several minutes before Nero responded, "so...you didn't come home because you didn't wish to hear me complain about Arsenio's betrayal?"

"No I just...I don't think I could have comforted you, but I should have tried."

"You should have...did you think about what I may have been feeling that night, even once?"

Guilt washed over Fenris and he looked away again, "no...I'm sorry."

Seeing the guilt weighing on Fenris' shoulders did little to make Nero want to forgive him. He felt empty and hollow, when he knew that deep down, somewhere inside of him, he was feeling shattered and broken-hearted. The brunt of his emotions appeared to have fled him once this conversation began.

"What do you want me to do? How can I fix this?" Fenris asked, interrupting Nero's thoughts.

Nero considered the question for quite a while before he responded, "I...I don't think there is anything you can do."

Having expected there to be something, anything, he could do, Fenris was quite shocked by the answer. Suddenly he felt panicked, and he frantically searched his mind, not for the first time, for something to say or do that would take back the mistake he had made. He searched Nero's face for something, anything that would indicate that there was a chance that this wasn't it, he did not want to believe that he had truly fucked up that badly. But Nero was stoic and emotionless, and he could have been looking at a wall for all that he saw there.

"Please...something, anything, It can't...will you come back home at least?" He begged, breathlessly.

"I'm sorry, Fenris, I can't. I thought I meant nothing to you, for more than a month. Now the idea is there and after Arsenio...I'm...paranoid. I-I can't, I don't trust you, I cant even tell if I want to trust you." Nero looked at his feet, unable to look at the fear and sadness in the elf's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I don't-"

"It hurt, Fenris. I've lain broken at the hands of strangers but even that did not compare to how much it hurt. I haven't always been so easygoing, you were the first person I trusted after I thought Arsenio died. To believe that the only two people that I ever trusted that much would betray me or cast me aside...I would willingly allow myself to return to Esperance to never feel that again. It's too soon."

"Is it something- will time fix this?" Fenris asked hopefully.

Nero shook his head sadly and turned away, unable to face the insurmountable grief overtaking the elf. "I don't know." he told the tower.

Nero turned around when he heard a sharp, sarcastic laugh sound behind him, "freedom must be something I am struggling to understand." Fenris said "It is ironic, almost. I do not want this but it seems fitting, as though I deserve it for daring to enjoy myself. As though it is a punishment from my master, and I should beg for mercy."

"I'm not doing this as a punishment, Fenris."

"No, that was...a bad choice of words. I know you would not..do that, but still...it's as if...never mind." He shook his head sadly.

Nero took a step towards him and reached out to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder but Fenris pulled away, "but perhaps you are right, and this is best." Fenris said, "perhaps this never should have happened. I have grown complacent, almost...happy. I had let myself believe that Denarius had given up, that this was okay. You are right to end this now, before it goes further. It could not end well for either of us."

Unsure what to say, Nero remained silent as Fenris began to pace. It wasn't long before he spoke again.

"Before you," he said, "I strived on my anger, I could go days without eating or sleeping so long as I had my rage. I don't know what was keeping me going while we were together. Now...now my rage is back and I'm not sure there is room for anything else. We are dangerous to each other; without Arsenio betraying our location Hadriana never would have come here after me, and what if Denarius comes after me now and takes you as well? I cannot let that happen. If...if you want to move back into your estate I will find someplace else to live and-"

Nero cut him off "no, it's fine. I am staying with Anders for now, you should stay there. I don't mind...worse comes to worse, its a big place I'm sure we could both live in it, eventually..."

"...perhaps..." I'll just move out if he ever moves back in, I imagine, Fenris thought sadly.

Nero shuffled his feet awkwardly, "well..that's it then...I should get back to the room...it's probably going to be another long day tomorrow."

Fenris frowned and nodded. Nero nodded back and left, leaving Fenris standing by the barrel, facing the tower. He looked at it blankly for several minutes before the reality of what just happened hit him. Then with a choking sound he fell to his knees and cried as quietly as he could, the way he had taught himself to when he was a slave.

He stayed there for a couple of hours, even after he had stopped sobbing and stopped feeling anything anymore. The entire time Merril's words from earlier that day rang in his head like a chant, "you're in love."

Venhedis.

...

"The Hawke's blood! The Master will rise. He will be free!" the dwarf said.

"Gerav?" Varric asked

It was the next day and they had continued further into the Carta Hideout, Fenris and Nero were both exhausted and looked miserable and deflated. They were also avoiding each other like the plague, and refused to even look at one another. The opposite could be said of Bethany and Anders, they were almost inseparable and had been teased about it restlessly.

"Varric? N-no one told me you would be part of this. We were just going after the Hawke" Gerav said nervously.

"Manners, Varric. Introduce me to your lunatic friend." Hawke said

"Hawke, this is Gerav. He's a greedy, brilliant, bastard son-of-a-nug from the carta. Gerav this is Hawke, the one whose blood you want to drink, or bathe in or whatever. But if you're after eternal youth. I've got to tell you, he's no virgin." Varric shook his head at the stupidity of the situation.

"The master is calling, He needs the blood."

"Gerav...buddy...this isn't like you." He pulled his crossbow from his back, "Look. I've still got Bianca; never misfired a day in her life. You don't want her to see her papa like this, do you?"

Gerav did not answer, instead he twitched nervously and looked at them with white eyes.

"Why has the carta been attacking me?" Hawke asked

"I c-can't say. The master must be free..." Gerav stuttered.

"Really, Gerav? I thought better of you than this. I mean, gutting the occasional competitor for fun and profit, that's the game. But what are you all even doing here? Worshiping demons?" Varric asked

"We drink the darkspawn blood. He calls us..."

"Why would you do that?" Hawke asked, "Wont you just die?"

"It's the only way, to hear the music." Gerav explained.

"Where have I heard that before?" Sebastian asked sarcastically.

Varric lost his patience, "oh, come on, you nug-licker! Snap out of it. There's no gold in hallucinating."

"Varric? Do you want to spare this bastard?" Hawke asked.

"Not if he's after you, Hawke." Varric aimed his crossbow at his old friend, "Bianca, I think it's time to say goodbye."

Varric let an arrow loose but before it reached the other dwarf, he had tossed a smoke bomb on the ground and disappeared. As he did several other dwarves approached from the direction Gerav had come from.

"Reinforcements? You bastard!" Varric exclaimed.

Varric shot a quick succession of arrows at the approaching dwarves, but didn't have the time to watch them fall before more carta members jumped down from where they had been hiding and the group was surrounded.

Anders cursed and sent a stream of ice shards in an arc in front of him, impaling several dwarves. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bethany launching a fireball at another set of dwarves before hitting them across the head with her staff. Turning he watched as Gerav reappeared behind Sebastian and made to sink his blades into the man's back, luckily Sebastian moved away at the same moment and he ended up only receiving two thin slices down his back where the blades had cut through the chain mail of his armor. Anders sent a healing spell his way and Fenris cut down Gerav, effectively ending the fight.

Varric crouched down next to his old friend, "you poor, stupid bastard...I used to do business with the Carta, back in the day. Gerav was a nutcase back then, too, but in a good way. He was trying to design a new type of repeating crossbow. Bianca was the only one that ever worked." He stood up to lead the others further into the compound, "I can't believe he ended up like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian's line is the only indication of Varric's personal quest being done that you're gonna get :P


	26. Chapter 26

Bethany tilted her head, she felt a scratching again, and it wasn't from Anders, Larius, or Darkspawn, it felt just a little bit different. She couldn't quite place it.

it had been a long two days, they had made their way through the Carta compound and down into some deep roads, with the tower in the center, which was...disconcerting. Once they had all descended into the structure a barrier formed, blocking their exit. it was clearly a Gray Warden compound, judging by the griffon emblems all over the place, and they had even found a demon in a magical cage with an ethereal memory of someone who sounded suspiciously like her father. The memory, or whatever it was, appeared to be guarding the demon...but that didn't stop her brother from finding a way to take down the cage so he could kill it.

They had just killed another demon in another magical cage, one that seemed to have frozen the thing. Once her brother had gotten close to it with his sword it was like he had released it and after they killed it Larius, a gray warden...only one she suspected seemed to have survived through the worst of his calling, appeared and was explaining the pillars to Hawke. Explaining being a relative term, she was unsure how her brother saw sense through it's babbling.

Anders had gotten very quiet when they descended into the deeproads, and remembering the last time she had been in the deep roads with him, she tried not to worry about it. I'll comfort him later, she thought with a smile.

They had not slept much the night before either, but she was not particularly tired. Grey Warden stamina and all that. But he appeared to be...wilting. He stood separately from the group and she approached him quietly. As she did so he knelt and held his head in his hands.

it was only when she knelt down next to him, confusion evident on her face, that she heard him saying, "I'm not listening...I'm not listening.."

Concerned, she placed a comforting hand on his back and was about to ask what was wrong when he jerked away from her. He fell back and, sitting on the floor, he blinked at her, as much confusion on his face as there was no hers.

"What's happening, Anders?" She asked.

He furrowed his brow and shook his head, "n-nothing."

They both stood and as he dusted his clothes off she folded her arms, "Anders..."

He looked up at her concerned expression and felt guilt descend upon him for lying to her. He glanced at the others and said, "I...can we talk about it later?"

She followed his gaze before offering him a small smile and agreeing. Turning around she saw Larius scuttling away and frowned, "why does he...feel different? He's not a darkspawn, obviously, but he doesn't feel like any Gray Warden I've been around either."

"He's had his calling, I'd say. Poor man...we should kill him to put him out of his misery." Anders said sadly.

Turning to him she frowned, "it's one thing to hear that it's going to happen to you, its entirely another to see it, firsthand."

He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, but did not reply. Sometimes there were no words that could comfort.

...

They had made camp in the very room they had slain the demon, and Isabela, Nero, and her brother were scouring the area, looking for something to make a fire with. Sebastian and Fenris were debating...whatever it was they debated about, and Merril was listening to Varric tell her some tale or other. While everyone was occupied Bethany pulled Anders far enough away from the group that she could talk to him without them overhearing.

Anders sat down and leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling, he sighed loudly and said, "Andraste's knickerweasels I hate these blighted deep roads."

Bethany sat down beside him and waited till he looked at her, when he did she said, "what was that earlier? What happened?"

He frowned and looked away, worrying his lip. "ever since we first came down here, I could hear...a voice...but not Justice's, this one is...not very comforting, not that Justice usually is. And there is a music, similar to the scratching or scraping sensation you hear when a darkspawn or another Warden is nearby, but entirely different. I don't know what it is. But the voice, sometimes its louder than others, and it sort of overwhelmed everything else for a moment. Have you...heard anything different?"

"No...nothing I didn't recognize, other than Larius."

"Maybe I'm closer to my calling than I thought...maybe Justice sped it up." Anders said.

Bethany entwined their fingers, "I doubt that. You aren't anything like Larius...maybe, maybe its got something to do with what the dwarves were hearing, weren't they talking about music?"

Anders furrowed his brow and shook his head, "then why aren't you hearing it? That doesn't make sense."

Leaning back against the wall as well Bethany sighed, "maybe...hmm...maybe its because I haven't been a Gray Warden as long?" she offered a small smile to him

Anders tried to give her a reassuring smile in return, but it ended up as more of a grimace. She leaned against him and watched Sebastian talking animatedly with Fenris, trying to think of something to change the subject, but she couldn't think of anything that wasn't depressing. it was only after the silence began to feel uncomfortable that she decided she would go for it anyway.

"Once more to the Deep Roads. I remember when that seemed so daunting... full of promise. We were young and stupid. Let's hope we're not just older, eh?" she smiled.

"Ugh."

Trying a different approach, she said "you know, sometimes, I think I see why you left the Grey Wardens. it's already getting old, spending my entire life surrounded by darkspawn."

Anders shook his head, "that wasn't it. I meant it when I joined the Wardens. I expected it to be for life. if I wasn't prepared for that, I would never had gone through the Joining."

Curiosity piqued, Bethany asked what happened.

Anders frowned, "Justice. Apparently even the Taint Brigade draws the line at abominations."

Surprised, she asked, "wait, they knew?"

"Daylen knew, I don't know if he told anyone. He said he wouldn't at least. He knew Justice, and he knew me, so he felt that we would be fine."

"Wait a second, Daylen was in the tower before he was recruited, did you know each other then?"

Anders chuckled, "of course, we didn't get along that well though. I thought he was a geeky prude, he thought I was an asshole." he laughed at the last part.

She smiled, "surely he didn't really think that. He was the one that recruited you, wasn't he? Why would he do that if he thought you were an asshole?"

Anders smiled, "I think his words were, 'smart-ass, self-serving, lazy, good-for-nothing, slut'"

Bethany burst out laughing, "good lord, what did you say to that?"

"You really want to hear the bad things I said about your cousin? I think it might be sacrilege to speak ill of the Hero of Ferelden to a Ferelden." He teased.

"Fine, don't tell me then." she stuck her tongue out at him.

He smiled and placed a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her towards him, he kissed her briefly before standing, and helping her to her feet.

"C'mon, I'm hungry...and tired...and I don't think we're going to be able to get away with spending the night away from the others tonight, so maybe I'll actually get some sleep."

She smacked him in the chest, "don't pretend like I'm the one that keeps jumping you, there have been plenty of times that I was ready to fall asleep when you started poking me."

He laughed, "fair enough."

They joined the group and sat down, it wasn't long before Hawke, Nero and Isabela returned and a fire was started. Bethany began cooking, saying that she wouldn't eat the filth the others claimed as food.

Nero sat down next to Anders gloomily.

"So, Anders," he said, "back in the Deep Roads. Like it or not, hmm?"

Anders scowled, "like it or not."

Bethany, overhearing and fearing that he would undo the work she did putting him in a good mood said, "well, I'm glad you're here." she only hoped that it helped.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm jumping all over the place because I don't feel like dragging on legacy more than it needs to be. So I'm just writing certain moments out. I sort of wanted to focus on Anders craziness in legacy, but the story isn't about him, sadly, and like I said, I don't feel like dragging legacy on and on. There is an incredible story called 'Our Inexorable Fate' written by wade bram wilson if you want more on Legacy and Anders. In that story its a Male HawkexAnders pairing so that's always exciting too. Link - http:/www[dot]fanfiction[dot]net/s/7510281/1/Our_Inexorable_Fate

They quickly made their way through the compound. They had traveled down to another floor where they had found another seal and two more demons guarded by the memory of Malcolm Hawke. This had put Garret in a somber mood and had only worsened the stress Bethany had. As they descended through the tower Anders was only getting worse, he had been unable to handle the voices again after they found the second seal. The rest of the time he was often quiet and dazed, and there were few moments where he seemed normal, as though he wasn't hearing anything at all. Bethany had demanded to know what they were saying and he finally gave in.

"It's Justice and Corypheus, I think. Corypheus keeps begging me to release him and help him, saying we could do a mage uprising together. Justice keeps telling me to ignore him and that it's all lies, that the other voice does not wish to help me, it only wishes to be free. Between the two of them arguing...it's like a cacophony in my head. It's overwhelming." He had told her.

She had tried appealing to her brother to turn back but he had reminded her that they couldn't, the way they had come had been sealed off, and they still hadn't dealt with the carta problem, not really. She had begrudgingly agreed and silently watched as Anders got worse the further down they descended.

And they had descended, they were now at the bottom of the tower. The place was different form the other deep roads Bethany had explored. It was, well, wet. There were strange green pools that bubbled in places and had an eerie smoke wafting from them all over the place. There were more darkspawn, of course, and some spiders and deepstalkers as well.

"More Deep Roads. Why did we agree to do this again?" Anders groaned.

"Because I love trouble, and you think Bethany is cute. That wasn't a serious question, was it, Blondie?" Varric asked

Anders tilted his head to the side and said "she is pretty cute."

From where Bethany was walking ahead of them, she smiled.

"This isn't so bad, Blondie. You could be losing more coin to the elf in a game of Wicked Grace." Varric told him

"At this rate, I'll still be paying him back when I'm dead." He grumbled

"Do you really hate the Deep Roads?" Merril asked

"Anybody with sense would hate them. They're a darkspawn filled pit that goes on forever."

"The dwarves still live in the Deep Roads, don't they? It can't be all bad."

"The dwarves are crazy." Anders told her.

Varric laughed, "he's got a point there, Daisy."

"So wait, what did you call those things?" Nero asked, referring to the creatures they had fought moments ago.

"Deepstalkers." Anders told him.

"Ugly little bastards, aren't they? Maker, their entire faces were mouths. What in the void designed those?" he asked with a shudder.

Anders shrugged and looked around, "the deep roads are a lot wetter than I remember."

Bethany chuckled, "not everywhere, just here probably...which is ironic, considering the whole desert-like appearance of the area around the carta hideout."

"What is that?" Hawke suddenly asked.

He had lead them up a set of stone stairs and into a small room with a statue against the opposite wall and four plates in front of it.

"This is meant for a sacrificial ritual. In ancient Tevinter they were used to appease the old gods. The magisters still place such offerings, though they pretend now that they're for Andraste and the Maker." Fenris explained with a roll of his eyes.

"Such superstitions have no place in the Chantry." Sebastian said.

"Which is why Tevinter left. Don't even think about making a sacrifice here, Hawke. Whatever happens, I promise it won't be good."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but... Fenris is right." Anders said dryly.

"What exactly would I sacrifice? A darkspawn? I don't think anybody would appreciate that." Hawke said with a chuckle.

"You can sacrifice all the darkspawn you want, so long as they don't get back up." Varric told him.

They left the altar after that, sacrifice free, and made their way towards the bottom of the tower that Nero had seen the strange orange light coming from the mouth of a griffon statue. They had just killed a large group of darkspawn and were continuing up a path when Anders stumbled and fell to his knees, his head in his hands.

"Free me, and I will help you." the voice of Corypheus practically yelled at him.

"Stop trying to seep your influence into him, demon. He will not listen, you cannot control him."

"Stop! Just make him stop talking! Make him stop!" Anders hissed to Justice, not realizing he had said it out loud.

"If you just let me have him, spirit, we can fix the world, do things that you never dreamed possible."

"No, I...I will not be controlled!" Justice had seeped into Anders' voice and he suddenly shot up, staff at the ready as if he was physically planning on fighting someone.

"Anders...there are better way's to fight him, there has to be." Bethany pleaded.

Instead of responding Justice swung Anders' staff and slammed it on the ground, as he did two shades appeared at his side and a short fight ensued. Bethany had jumped on Anders and had pinned him to the ground, pleading in his ear for him to take control again while Justice cursed at her and tried to pry her off. Eventually Anders succeeded in fighting back and the cracks in his skin closed.

Embarrassed and ashamed he stood, with Bethany's help. He apologized to the group, receiving disgusted looks from Sebastian and Fenris and worried expressions from the rest. They quickly returned to their trek up the path, with Bethany and Anders lagging behind.

"I hope I can hold against him...against them both." He whispered to her.

She squeezed him tighter against her side, "I'll help you through this, it will be fine..."

...

When they reached the top of the trail they found themselves facing one more demon guarding a seal. The fight was long and arduous, due to the demon repeatedly making various copies of itself that spread all throughout the chamber. It took some time before they finally pinned the real demon down.

After the battle was done and Hawke had opened the seal they set up camp, as they were all exhausted, they only slept for a few hours each, but enough to regain some of their composure. The openness of the space they were in made Hawke uncomfortable, and the smell was atrocious. When everybody was up and ready to move on they continued their way towards a set of stairs that obviously led into the tower. They didn't get very far down the bridge leading to the door before Larius appeared again.

"He feels the seals weaken, he knows you are close. You must be ready...whats that? who? no, no! They're here!"

"Who is it this time, cuddles the turtle, the holy cheese wheel of Andraste?" Hawke asked tiredly.

"The Wardens. They listen to Corypheus, they want to bring him the light. Stop them. You must stop them!" He said before scuttling away.

It wasn't long before a small group of four Grey Wardens appeared,

The only woman of the group was speaking to her gray haired companion "somethings happening. The prison is breaking down. But it's stood up to tunneling before. What can-" she gasped upon seeing Hawke, "you! You have the key. And you've come through the seals. But how? Hawke? Are you the one? The same Hawke, child of Malcolm? The carta said they were close, you must be him. I am Janeka, I lead this unit of Grey Wardens."

"Senior Warden, why are you interested in my father?" Bethany asked respectfully.

"Then you don't know? Without Malcolm this prison would have fallen years ago." Janeka told her.

"Let me guess," Hawke motioned towards the sword, rather, the key, on his back, "it has something to do with this fancy thing?"

"They grey wardens built this prison to contain one of the most powerful darkspawn we've ever even the best magic fades, the Wardens need to reinforce the seals. This requires the blood of mage untainted by...Warden training. The last to perform this ritual was your father."

Bethany gasped and Hawke asked, "my father was a blood mage?"

"To avert the blights, forbidden magics are sometimes necessary" Janeka said sternly.

"For us, maybe." Bethany said, "I thought my father knew better."

"He did not bind the demon, if that is your concern. That was done in another era, before the Chantry's laws" Janeka told them.

Hawke sighed, "why do my family stories never involve embarrassing vacations in Antiva?"

Janeka ignored him, "We need your help, Hawke. I have done extensive research on this darkspawn and I believe the original Wardens were wrong. He isn't a threat to humanity...he's our greatest opportunity. A darkspawn that can talk, feel, reason..."

Suddenly Larius reappeared, "Corypheus cares nothing of blights, he used you."

The man with gray hair whom Janeka was speaking to when they arrived gasped and said, "the Warden Commander!"

"Don't listen to this...creature. He's half darkspawn himself." Janeka told him. "I know how to harness Corypheus, use his magic to end the blights."

"No," Larius said, "the Wardens knew, Corypheus is too powerful."

"Don't do it Hawke," Anders said, "you can't trust a darkspawn to honor any deal."

Hawked turned to Bethany, "your still with the Wardens, what do you think?

"I don't know, I do not wish to defy my superiors, but this just seems wrong."

"Corypheus calls her, and she listens. She brought him the carta, and sent them after you."

"Stroud wouldn't let me have your sister," Janeka said, "I need you."

"Why would a darkspawn want to end the blights?" Hawke asked.

"He's no mindless monster. This search for the Old Gods comes at a terrible cost to his people."

"This sounds very familiar." Anders said

"He tricked you! These are not your thoughts, they are his calling!" Larius told Janeka.

"How many died in Ferelden alone? And that was the least of the blights." Janeka replied.

"How could you trust any deal this darkspawn makes with you?" Hawke asked.

"Do not think me foolish, Hawke. I am making no deal. I have a spell which can control Corypheus, bind him to my will. He will be a new important weapon in the war on the blights. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Are you talking about using blood magic?" Bethany asked.

"Everything that was done to him was through the power of blood. The wardens imprisoned Corypheus before the chantry banned such magic. It is the only way to hold him."

"You aren't' helping the case for releasing him," Hawke told her.

"Corypheus may be as great a risk as the next blight, we can't risk freeing him!" Bethany said.

"We will find a way to do this with or without a Hawke." She said, backing away, "the prison will be broken ,the blights will end. Come!" With that she made an arc of fire in front of the door she was exiting through, and Larius motioned for them to follow him as he took an alternate path.

"With me!" He said, "we will beat them to the seal."


	28. Chapter 28

They were making their way through another floor, one that Larius promised was the last before they reached Coryheus' prison. There were several doors that were blocked with magic, but there were also sconces with similar colored magic oozing from them that changed, and released the barriers in the doorways, when a spell was shot at them.

They made quick work of getting through the puzzling floor, and near the end they came across Janeka. She raised a few spirits, in hopes that the group would be killed, and clearly underestimated their abilities. Hawke found it almost insulting, and laughed about it afterwords.

Eventually they found themselves at the top of the tower, which didn't actually lead directly to Corypheus' prison. They had to follow a dirt path till they reached a set of stairs before they got to a bridge that lead to it. As they traversed it Bethany found herself walking next to Sebastian.

"So, Sebastian... you're a prince." She said

Sebastian chuckled, "that is my lot, Lady Hawke."

Bethany laughed, "this life is not... supportive of delicate titles."

"To have a second chance, and one with such purpose, it cannot be a curse." He told her.

"If there's something good or beautiful in any of this, please, enlighten me." she jested.

"Well, there's you." he said with his most charming smile.

"I... oh my." was all she could say.

Her brother chuckled, and Varric said, "choirboy is butter."

Isabela smirked, "he melted mine."

Anders, despite still trying to sort through the voices in his head, said "Sebastian? Back off."

Sebastian didn't get a chance to reply as they reached the end of the bridge and found themselves facing Janeka and her companions.

"You're too late, Larius." She said, "hand over Hawke, and I'll give you a quick death."

"Hawke has made his choice, the right one." Larius told her.

"The right choice, or the only one? Malcolm Hawke was not allowed to disagree." Janeka smirked.

"It is the past, it does not matter." Larius said.

Hawke raised an eyebrow at him, "Larius..what does she mean by 'not allowed'?"

Larius looked away, "how does she know this? Alec," he scowled at the gray haired Warden in front of them, "did you tell her?" he shook his head, "Malcolm Hawke was reluctant...had to be...persuaded. I was Warden Commander, it was my duty. I delivered an ultimatum...help us, or you'll never see her again."

"You did what?" Hawke hissed.

"You were going to kill our mother!" Bethany said.

"No, never! He came with us, I never had to decide her fate. She was never told about what passed between Malcolm and me." Larius explained.

"That doesn't excuse it!" Bethany exclaimed

"You see, Hawke? How can you believe anything Larius says?" Janeka smirked.

"Larius' threats were reprehensible." Bethany said, "But he is still right about Corypheus."

"I agree." Hawke told her.

"You can come willingly or not, Hawke. I just need your blood." Janeka and her companions unsheathed their weapons.

"Come and get it then!" Hawke smirked as he unsheathed his own weapon.

A flurry of blades and spells later and the fight was over as suddenly as it begun. Which had Nero rather confused, I guess Wardens aren't as great as I thought...or we're just incredibly awesome. He eyed the orange streams of what he could only assume was magic as it trailed from the mouths of four griffon statues towards the center of the room, where a small platform stood.

"He stirs. Slay him now before he wakes, before his strength comes. The key, its not strong enough. Use your blood. Free him and slay him." Larius said as they approached it

"So I'm going to assume that the statues require what, my blood to turn them off?" Hawke asked.

"No-no, there are buttons that will shut them off, you must turn them all off then approach the dais and use your blood to open the prison."

"Sounds easy enough...I guess." Hawke said skeptically before approaching the closest griffon.

There was a bowl between the griffons feet, one that was part of the statue, that had a glowing emblem on it. Hawke tentatively reached out a hand and barely touched it before there was a flash of light and the stream of magic coming from the statue disappeared. Hawke quickly made his way to the other statues, turning them all off in turn before slowly approaching the dais, unsure if he really wanted to do this.

"I don't mean to be a fuss-bucket, but is this really a good idea?" Isabela asked him.

"Hawke blood is the only thing that will open his prison. I don't think he'll stop until he has what he wants." He reasoned.

"A man of ambition, I bet he has a sinister laugh."

"That's what I said, don't steal my funnies." Hawke smirked at her.

He stepped up to the top of the dais to stand in the center and pulled a knife from his belt. He cut the back of his forearm and watched it fall. The dais lit up with odd designs and a magical energy, carefully he placed his sword in the light and watched for a moment as it floated there and spun around slowly, looking as though it was absorbing the magic.

Then he, and his blade, were tossed off the dais by the force of the spell breaking and a man...darkspawn..thing floated up from the depths of his prison. Corypheus looked around for a moment before speaking.

"Be this some dream I wake from? Am I in dwarven lands? Why seem their roads so empty?" His eyes rested on Hawke and he pointed a finger at him, "You! Serve you at the temple of Dumat? Bring me hence, I must speak with the first acolyte."

"Dumat...was the first old god to become an Archdemon. There haven't been temples to him since ancient Tevinter." Anders said with surprise.

"You look human," Corypheus observed, "Are you not citizens of the Empire? Slaves then, to the dwarves? Why come you here? Whoever you be, you owe fealty to any magister of Tevinter, on your knees! All of you!"

"Fuck that." Nero muttered

"Indeed." Fenris agreed, from where he was standing close by.

"You're a darkspawn...dark...spawn...ravaging the deep roads, spreading the blights. Does this ring a bell?" Hawke asked.

"You are what held me, I smell the blood in you." Corypheus told him, then he turned away and looked to the sky...or the ceiling rather. "Dumat! Lord! Tell me. What waking dream is this?" the ceiling, however, offered no answers. "The light, we sought the golden light. You offered...the powers of the gods themselves. But it was black, corrupt. Darkness, ever since. How long?" He turned back to the group.

"The golden city, the first violation. The magisters who brought the blight!" Larius whispered.

"That's ridiculous! There were no magical boogeymen who trespassed in the maker's city. It's a story. It's chantry propaganda." Anders said.

"That's sacrilege." Sebastian hissed.

"Where do you think darkspawn come from?" Hawke asked Anders.

"Some creation of the Old Gods, no doubt."

"Dumat? Have you forsaken me? I am your faithful servant..." Corypheus said.

"The darkspawn aren't just some conveniently explicit lesson on the dangers of magic." Anders insisted.

Fenris sighed loudly, out of frustration but did not bother saying anything, he was in no mood to correct Anders. And maybe...if things were ever to improve between him and Nero, picking on his best friend wouldn't help.

"Unless Corypheus is real, anyone who knows what really happened is long dead." Hawke told Anders.

"You don't think its a little convenient? What does every sane man and woman in Thedas fear? The blights. Why not pin that on mages too."

"What manner of speech is this? How long have I slumbered?" Corypheus wondered.

"He tainted the world. He speaks to all who carry the corruption. Darkspawn, wardens. He brought Janeka here, brought you..."

"If he's been calling the Wardens to free him, whats his plan? He seems confused." Hawke said.

"He slept. While the seals held , he could not wake. He knows nothing of time that passed. We must kill him now, before he comes to."

"The city! It was supposed to be ours! It was supposed to be golden! If I cannot leave with you, I will leave through you! I seek the light!" As Corypheus spoke he floated off of the platform to stand almost completely above them.

Nero noticed Larius running away and called after him "wait, where are you going? We could probably use you-shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this stuff isn't terribly boring, i don't know what i was thinking, but i wrote it and ive already started act 3 ...fack, im not sure how i would make this crap more interesting...i just sort of ran out of stuff that i wanted to happen in Act 2, i had wanted this act to be longer but the only way it would be is if i focused on other characters, which is not what this story is about...good lord, try to enjoy yourselves. Or just wait till i start posting Act 3


	29. Chapter 29

"So lets see what an ancient darkspawn would keep on him, hmm?" Hawke said tiredly.

The fight had lasted ages, as Corypheus had proved quite powerful. He had barely quaked under the spells and arrows shot at him, and Hawke considered himself lucky that he was nearby when Corypheus had fallen to his knees and he was able to kill him. And now the fight was over, with no deaths on their side either. Sebastian's armor was blackened by smoke from when he didn't get out of Corypheus' flames fast enough and had caught his pants on fire, Nero had cracked a rib at some point and was still wincing every time he inhaled, but Anders was low on mana and couldn't do anything for him yet. But the rest of them had escaped mostly unscathed, save for a few bumps and bruises.

Something shiny caught Hawke's eye and reaching down he pulled an amulet from Corypheus' corpse. Anders noticed and approached.

"That amulet...no one has used that pattern since before the first blight. It was unique to a small sect in Tevinter who worshiped the god Dumat. Corypheus really was a magister. I always thought the black city was just a story." He said breathlessly.

"Even if it's true, it doesn't justify punishing mages over a thousand years later." Bethany said bitterly.

"Do you think?" Anders asked her. "What else might the chantry know that we don't? I-I'll need to study this further."

"Take it then, I don't want it." Hawke said, offering the amulet to Anders, who took it gladly.

"You did well Hawke," Larius said as he approached them, "more than the Gray Wardens of old were able to accomplish. I will tell the Warden Commander of your service here."

"I'd be careful, we don't usually come back from our calling." Bethany told him.

"I must try."

"Why are you talking like that? And why...what happened to you?" Hawke asked, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.

"My head is clear now. Without Corypheus' call I can think again. I thank you for my freedom. You've gained an ally here today." He said.

"And here I thought I'd just gained a headache." Hawke said dryly.

Larius smiled, "I will never forget what you did here. The prison stands no more. My gratitude you have, for my freedom. I will show you a quick way out of here, but then we must part ways. I have people I must meet."

The path he used to take them back to the surface, and to the road that would lead them back to Kirkwall, was surprisingly short. They had paused only once, so that Anders could heal Nero, and had made camp as soon as they were back on the surface. Everyone had gone to bed almost immediately, and Bethany had said she would take first watch, as she was probably the least tired person there.

She lay on the ground by her tent and watched the sky, thinking about the events of the day. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear Anders get up, and jumped when he sat on the ground beside her.

He offered her an apologetic smile, but she frowned and said, "what Larius said after we killed Corypheus...that doesn't really make sense, does it?"

"What do you mean?" Anders asked, confused.

"When we get our calling we don't just hear one voice, we hear many, we hear what the darkspawn are hearing. The music and all that. So why would killing Corypheus cure Larius of his calling? It makes no sense."

Anders looked away, thinking. "I hadn't...given it much thought. That is fairly disturbing...shit."

Bethany smiled and sat up, "I didn't realize it at the time either, I think we were all too tired to care."

Anders chuckled, "most definitely."

Another thought struck her and she furrowed her brow in confusion and worry, "he kept saying thank you, for his freedom...you don't think..."

Anders followed her train of thought, "that Corypheus possessed him somehow? No, that's crazy. Darkspawn can't do that, mages can't do that."

Bethany laughed, "maybe you're right. I'm just being paranoid."

"After all that happened down there, I can understand that." Anders smiled.

"How are you now? I mean, now that we're not in the deep roads and Corypheus is dead."

Anders patted her leg reassuringly, "I'm fine, same as before. If perhaps a little unnerved by the fact that I attacked all of you and the Chantry doesn't appear to be completely full of shit like I had believed."

"You aren't going to go Andrastian on me now, are you?" Bethany teased.

Anders only snorted in response.

...

The trek back to Kirkwall had taken twice as long as the trek to the carta hideout. Luckily they had come across a trading caravan that sold them some food, so they didn't have to waste time trying to hunt. When they had gotten back to Kirkwall they had all gone their separate ways, to a warm bed and a good sleep. Nero was going to go back to the clinic but Bethany had decided to stay there so he made the decision to rent a room at the Hanged Man, much to Isabela's excitement.

It was less than a week after they had returned to the city that Anders had to see Bethany off. He had enjoyed his time with her, but they had both known going into it that she would have to leave. She promised to write and visit when she could, but he wasn't very hopeful. She would go back to her life with the Wardens and he would be forgotten about.

After she left Justice came back in full force, telling him that they were back in the city and he had let Anders have his fun with Bethany, now was the time to get back on track with the mage rebellion. And so his time became occupied with freeing mages with the underground, healing refugees in his clinic, and writing a manifesto that Justice insisted he write. He didn't even notice when Nero never moved back in, he barely had a thought for anything else, justice kept him sufficiently occupied.

Nero stayed at the Hanged Man, and for the first few weeks he never even saw Fenris. Hawke said that Fenris barely left the mansion, which was fine by Nero, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see the elf ever again. He still felt lonely though, and he tried to fill the void with alcohol, and it worked for a few hours, but he still went to bed lonely and feeling ill. He had even tried, on several occasions, to get Isabela to spend the night with him, not to have sex, he just didn't want to sleep alone anymore, but she refused. Every time he asked why she gave him a knowing look and he felt guilty for trying to use her, so he eventually stopped asking.

It was one night late in the third week of his drinking binge that Fenris showed up, probably dragged there by Hawke. It was wicked grace night, so Nero knew he shouldn't be surprised, the elf was going to make an appearance sooner or later. Short of leaving the city forever, he was going to run into Fenris eventually. Knowing that did nothing to ease the sudden sick feeling he had in his stomach, but he refused to leave. Maybe it was the alcohol making him stubborn, or maybe it was because he didn't want the elf to see him stumble out the door, but he made himself stay, and even played a few rounds of cards before giving up. After that he just sat back in his chair and watched the game and listened to the conversations taking place around him.

Sebastian was there and was chatting with Fenris, again. Much to Nero's annoyance.

"Does the Tevinter chantry tell the same story of how the darkspawn came to be?" Sebastian wondered.

Fenris scowled, "slaves are not regaled with a Tevinter version of the Chant of Light. If I were to guess, it'd go something like 'And lo, the greatest of magisters ventured into the Maker's city. And to reward them for their courage, he created darkspawn as a scourge against their enemies.'" Nero chuckled at this and Fenris smiled a little at the sound.

"You don't think they take responsibility for their actions?" Sebastian asked.

"Responsibility is the only thing magisters don't take." Fenris said sourly.

"The chantry does say the Tevinter magisters are responsible for the darkspawn." Sebastian told the elf.

"I believe it."

"The Chant claims that pride was their greatest sin. And now they have infected the world."

Fenris almost smirked, "most magisters would consider this a challenge. Invent a sin that is greater yet."

"I know some ladies who could help them brainstorm." Hawke told them.

"I do hope you don't mean me." Isabela said innocently.

Hawke smiled at her, "perish the thought, I would never implicate you."

"I somehow doubt that." Nero chuckled, halfheartedly.

"With no intention of changing the subject, I've been wondering Nero. You aren't staying with Anders anymore, I know that. Where are you staying?" Hawke asked with a knowing smirk.

Fenris shifted uncomfortably where he was sitting but perked his ears up, Nero only scowled in response however.

Isabela laughed, "our dear Nero has taken to the Hanged Man, and is renting a room here."

Hawke raised an eyebrow, "that seems mighty expensive, especially considering you payed me a large sum of money to buy that mansion in Hightown for you, all those years ago."

Nero pleaded with his eyes for Hawke to drop it, he did not wish to have this discussion here, not in front of everyone, not with Fenris present. But he knew, that this discussion wouldn't even be taking place, if the elf was not here. And Hawke didn't retract his question, nor did anybody else try to steer the conversation somewhere else. It was as if everyone waited with bated breath, for what he would say.

He sighed loudly, indicating that he was tired, hoping that everyone would listen to him when he said, "drop it, please."

But Hawke was a man on a mission, and would not be so easily swayed, "but I'm curious Nero, why would you-"

"He does not wish to answer Hawke, leave it be." Fenris interrupted forcefully.

Nero looked at him, stunned that he would come to his rescue. Hawke sat back with a sigh, but did not continue his interrogation, for which Nero was eternally grateful. He didn't get to thank the elf for his intervention until several hours later, when he had gone downstairs to get another drink but upon realizing the world was spinning just a little too much, asked for water and was given a cup and sent outside. There was a large barrel that contained water in the back of the tavern, that was only accessible through the kitchen and he sat on the ground by it, twisting the faucet at the bottom of it so that water came out and he filled his cup.

He did not know how long he had been down there, long enough that he didn't feel nearly as drunk anymore and Corff had shown up and given him a small loaf of stale bread, which he devoured. Apparently there was a crate of bread that was going to be sent to the man with the pig stall up the street, as was the custom, but Corff had seen how plastered Nero was and figured he might make better use of it.

As it was, he wasn't half as surprised as he probably would have been when Fenris showed up. Nero eyed him curiously for a moment before moving over, so that there was more room for Fenris to sit between him and one of the crates. After looking at him skeptically Fenris sat, but it was several minutes before he said anything.

"Isabela said you probably went to bed, evidently she was wrong."

Nero nodded, "no, not in bed. But I should...thank you, for getting Hawke to stop. I...appreciate it."

Fenris sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "you're welcome."

Several more awkward minutes passed without either of them saying anything. And Nero caught himself eyeing the elf appreciatively, what an attractive individual.

Fenris looked over at him suddenly and Nero started, blushed, and looked away. A small smile graced Fenris' face and, feeling particularly bold that night he reached an arm around Nero's shoulders and pulled him close, so that Nero's head rested on his collarbone. Fenris found himself smiling at the contact and how...comfortable it was. He drank in the sensation of Nero's warm breath wafting across his throat, and one of Nero's leg that had twined itself around one of his own.

Nero had even placed on of his hands on Fenris' chest, initially in a move to push Fenris away but then he realized that being this close to the elf was soothing, even if it wasn't going to last. His thoughts began to spiral downward, and it wasn't' long before he became uncomfortable in the elf's embrace, as he thought of all the pain he had experienced over this man. Fenris was self-centered, and angry, and it wasn't so much that Nero was upset over what he thought was a betrayal as he was terrified of a true one actually taking place. He couldn't even imagine what would happen to him if Fenris truly turned him aside, nor did he know how he would handle a similar scenario to what had taken place after the incident in the slaver caverns.

Nero wanted to go back home, to the estate, he wanted things to go back to how they had been before. But he knew that they couldn't, that event would hang like a black cloud over all of it, souring any precious moments that took place. He was sure of it. He wanted to go back, he wanted to be like this with Fenris again, but just the idea of it brought both a great pleasure and a terrible fear and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to get rid of the latter.

It was with these thoughts in mind that he pulled away from the elf and stood. Fenris looked up at him, pain and hurt evident in his eyes and with a sad sigh Nero helped him up. They stood, looking at each other sadly for several minutes. Nero tentatively reached a hand up and placed it on Fenris' cheek, and the elf closed his eyes and leaned into it. Nero felt an overwhelming urge to kiss the man, but he didn't. Instead he let his hand fall back to his side and without a word he headed back into the bar, to get another drink.


	30. Chapter 30

A year and a half passed before Nero allowed himself to become close enough to the elf to have their skin touch again. Plenty happened during that time; It wasn't a week after that night in the Hanged Man that Isabela said that she knew where her relic was and asked for Hawke's help. Nero had gone with them, and was just as shocked as the others to find out that Isabela's relic was the property of the Qunari, and was the reason the horned men were still in Kirkwall. But Hawke had caved and agreed to get the relic for Isabela, before heading to the Qunari compound after the pirate had gotten her prize and disappeared, leaving a note of apology on One-Eyed Sam.

Nero wasn't at the compound when the trouble started, but he sobered up quickly when he heard the commotion outside of the Hanged Man. After discovering that the Qunari were attacking the citizens of Kirkwall, he and Varric left the bar in search of Hawke, having known that the compound was where the man had been heading earlier that day. They finally caught up with him at the courtyard in front of Viscount's Keep and were present during the ensuing chaos that took place.

Hawke was facing down the Aarishok when Isabela arrived, relic in hand. She blamed Hawke for influencing her and she handed the book over to the Qunari. When they said that they would take her with them Hawke refused to let them do so, he also refused to duel the Aarishok, which led to a long, tiring battle between the Qunari and Hawke and his friends. Somehow Hawke turned out on top, and he and Isabela proceeded to have an argument, before she left, not to be seen or heard from again for years.

The event lead to a statue being made in Hawke's honor and a ceremony being held that named him Champion of Kirkwall. A title for which his friends teased him about relentlessly, despite being as much a part of the defeat of the Qunari as Hawke.

After this Nero had been forced to move out of the Hanged Man, as it was closed for repairs, and he moved his things back to Anders clinic. He only stayed with the healer for about a year, the strong friendship he once had with Anders crumbled, and Anders became testy and more obsessed with freeing mages than healing clients. It disturbed Nero when he watched Anders sit at his desk for hours, mumbling to himself and writing even after his candle went out. Nero tried asking a couple of times what he was writing but the mage always shooed him away. Anders hadn't reacted much to Nero's return to his clinic and hadn't reacted at all when Nero told him he was moving, back to the mansion.

He had been staying back at the estate with Fenris for six months, avoiding the elf like the plague the entire time, when Hawke took them out on a job to get rid of a small band of Qunari...or Tal-Veshoth, whatever that were terrorizing caravans near the wounded coast. Hawke had been pretty good about only asking one of them out on a job at once, but this time he had been low on people to take, as everyone was busy, and he had even resorted to begging Anders to come along.

And so it was that the four of them were battling a small group of Qunari on the beach. They had already taken down three of them, and three remained. Nero was batting away a spear that one of the Qunari was using to block his attacks with, and had just stabbed the horned beast in the chest with one of his daggers when he felt a warm sensation in his abdomen and fell forward.

He was on his knees and looked down, only to find half of a spear coming from his stomach. The pain hit him with a rush and suddenly he screamed. When Hawke and Fenris looked over to see the state he was in they hastened their efforts to eliminate the remaining Qunari and rushed over to him. Anders was already there and had gotten Nero to lay on his side so that he could assess the damage.

"I don't think it's hit anything vital." He said when Hawke and Fenris approached.

Nero whimpered and tried not to breathe too deeply, he also tried not to move at all but his efforts were in vain, the pain was immeasurable and he was not sure how much longer he could remain conscious. He wasn't even sure why he was trying to.

Fenris shook with nerves and worry where he sat,"you can save him." he said to Anders, not quite a question, but not quite a statement either. He felt like puking, he felt like crying, he felt like screaming, but he mostly just wanted to hold Nero's hand and tell him it would be alright, even if it wouldn't. He never stopped to wonder when he had gotten the urge to express emotion with touch.

Anders nodded in response to Fenris and he tore the fabric of Nero's shirt so that he could see the wound better, and said, "we need to take it out, I can't heal him with it in there. But first, I'm going to need water, and it probably wouldn't be a terrible idea to break off one end of this thing, so that we don't' damage the wound further."

Hawke nodded and fetched the water canteens from their packs where they had dropped them when the fight had begun. He returned to find Fenris almost as pale as Nero, who was now unconscious, and sawing at one end of the spear with a serrated knife that Anders kept on him. The elf kept shooting glances at the wound and Nero's face, terror and stress evident on his features and Hawke's heart almost broke for him. He knew that despite their living arrangements, the two men weren't getting on so well. From what he knew they didn't talk or see each other at all; which was part of the reason he got them both to come with him on this mission, though he didn't tell them this.

Fenris finished sawing off the end of the spear and tossed it aside, handing the knife back to the mage, who took a deep breath and said, "alright, we are going to pull it out slowly, and try not to jar it too much, do you understand?"

Fenris nodded and Hawke said, "yes, but, is it a good idea to do this on a beach?"

Anders shook his head, "no, probably not, but i don't want to risk moving him. Are you ready? 1...2...pull."

They got the spear out without any issue and Anders let the wound bleed for a few minutes before cleansing it with the water and healing it. When he was done Nero, unsurprisingly, hadn't woken up and they were forced to carry him back to the city. They took turns carrying him, but even so they were still sore and stiff by the time they returned back to Hightown and the estate. Anders laid Nero in his bed and checked his vitals before sending a wave of healing energy through him, in an effort to ease any lingering pain. With there being nothing more he could do he and Hawke left, with promise's to return in the morning.

This left Fenris to care for the other man, which had him stressed and pacing the room most of the night. There were several times that he had considered going for Anders, as Nero had not yet woken up, but he had to keep reminding himself that color was slowly returning to the man's face and the mage had told him that he would likely sleep for a while. And when he woke it probably wouldn't be for long.

Eventually Fenris wore himself out and ended up falling asleep in a chair by the fireplace. Because of this he wasn't awake when Nero woke up and blurrily saw him sitting in the chair. He smiled and sat up groggily, and left the room to relieve himself before stumbling back, taking a drink from the glass of water on his nightstand and falling back asleep. But not before checking his stomach, to make sure it was still whole. He was surprised to find there wasn't even a scar.

...

Fenris woke with a gasp and nearly flew out of the chair he was sitting in. His subconscious had decided to regal him with what would have happened if Anders hadn't been there earlier. He had held the dying man in his arms, and it was all so very realistic, he had even felt Nero's last breath as though it was his own, and-

He pushed the memory of the dream away with a choked-back sob and looked over to where Nero was still sleeping soundly. He bit his lip and stood, he found himself mesmerized by the relaxed face and wondered how he would have survived if the mage hadn't been there. Nero was curled on his side, facing him, and Fenris recalled a time when he would be in the bed with the man, curled up behind him, with his arms wrapped around him and he felt an indescribable pain in his chest that set him pacing quietly.

I need to..I need...merda.

Caving in to his need he began silently unbuckling his armor and setting it on the chair. When he was done he looked at it for a moment before standing at the foot of the bed and wondering if he should even bother. What would Nero say? He would probably be angry...just for a few minutes then. Fenris climbed into the bed, careful not to jar the other man, so as not to wake him up, and pulled the blankets back between Nero and the wall so that he could get under them.

Fenris was pleasantly surprised when Nero turned around in his sleep and cuddled up to him, resting his forehead against the elf's collarbone. Fenris felt himself relax and even though he had only intended to stay in the bed for a short while he ended up falling asleep again, with his arms wrapped around the other man and their bodies pressed together.

...

When Nero awoke a second time he realized rather quickly that he was not alone. And that he was comfortably warm, which was definitely nice. He pulled away slowly, and laid his head on the pillow so that he could look at Fenris' face. The elf was more relaxed and happier looking than Nero had seen him in months, years even.

He laid like that for some time, watching the elf sleep, and it wasn't until he had an overwhelming urge to stretch, and did so, that Fenris' eyes opened. Nero watched him for a few seconds more before he leaned foreword and gently pressed their lips together. Fenris' arms tightened around him and Nero brought a hand up to the back of the elf's neck and deepened the kiss.

It wasn't long before the kiss turned frantic and Fenris found his way on top of Nero. Nero groaned into the kiss and adjusted his position so that Fenris was kneeling between his legs and leaning on his elbows. Nero ran his hands down Fenris' back and bunched up his tunic so that he could put his hands under it, when their skin touched Fenris trembled and pressed his erection into Nero's, causing them both to moan.

Nero broke the kiss for only a moment, just long enough to pull Fenris' tunic off and take off his own shirt. He caught a glimpse of the elf's taught stomach before Fenris was kissing and biting and licking his neck and shoulder. Nero moaned loudly, the sensations shoot straight to his groin, and reached between them to tease Fenris' nipples, eliciting a growl from him.

Suddenly Fenris sat up and quickly untied Nero's pants, Nero lifted his hips to help the elf pull them off and then his mouth was being attacked again. He gasped into the kiss when Fenris' hand found his cock and he began rocking his hips to the strokes. It wasn't very long before he grew frustrated and, sucking on Fenris' bottom lip, he reached in the bottom drawer of his night stand blindly, finding a bottle of oil that he was extremely thankful he had left there.

When he had it he placed it on the bed beside him and set about pushing Fenris' pants down. Things became a pleasant blur after that. Nero still had an ache in his stomach from the whole spear thing, so Fenris had stayed on top. After they were both spent the elf gently let himself fall back to where he had been laying when Nero had first kissed him. Neither of them spoke as they caught their breath and it wasn't long after that that Fenris heard quiet snores coming from the other man.

He let out a breathy laugh before getting up, and out of the bed. Luckily Nero was so deeply asleep that he didn't even flinch when Fenris covered him in the blankets again. Fenris looked longingly at the bed, and the man sleeping in it, before turning and gathering his things. He ached to stay, but he was afraid if he did Nero would ask him to leave, and he wasn't sure he could handle that.


End file.
